



4 O 

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TWENTY YEARS 



AMONG THE MEXICANS, 



A NARRATIVE 



OF 



MISSIONARY LABOR, 



BY 



MELINDA RANKIN. 



CINCINNATI: 
CHASE & HALL, PUBLISHERS. 

1875. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, by 

MELINDA RANKIN, 

In the OfEce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 

STEEEOTYPED AT FEANKLIN TYPE FODHDEY, CINCINNATI. 



TO THE 

C^rbtmu Wiamzn of Hqz Wimttb §^tnUB, 

PARTICULARLY 

THOSE WHO HAVE AIDED HER IN HER WORK IN MEXICO, 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE 

AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



The narrative is written, and I have concluded 
to give it to the public. It was commenced under 
very serious doubts as to the propriety of its pub- 
lication, lest there might appear a spirit of egotism 
in arraying my imperfect labors before the world. 
In gathering up and writing out the actual facts of 
my personal experience, I have found much satis- 
faction. The review of the way in which the Lord 
has led me has greatly strengthened my faith in 
His providential dealings with His people, and 
confirmed my belief that He still accomplishes His 
divine purposes through weak instrumentalities. 
In view of this, I have arrived at the conclusion 
that the facts of my personal missionary experience 
are not my own, and therefore I have no right to 
suppress them, however much my natural disposi- 
tion may incline me to do so. Hence, I give this 
brief narrative of my Twenty Years^ Experience 

among the Mexicans, to the public, from a firm 

(V) 



VI PREFACE. 

conviction of duty to God, and will indulge the 
hope that He will make it useful to those into 
whose hands the little book may fall. 

I am aware it will be subject to various criti- 
cisms. With some, it will, I doubt not, be received 
as an exhibition of God's faithfulness to His prom- 
ises, and an example of His condescension in favor- 
ing one of his weakest servants. If this apprecia- 
tion be arrived at, I shall be fully compensated for 
this presentation of my life-service for the Master. 

There is another class who may probably deign 
to look into the book, and who, having no proper 
understanding of a work of faith, will pronounce 
the facts presented the result of a wild fanaticism 
and of a weak and misguided mind. From this 
class, I most frankly acknowledge, I have expected 
naught but disapprobation, therefore I shall not be 
disappointed in any criticisms they may see fit to 
make. 

Then, there are those who profess to have an 
appreciation and knowledge of missionary labor 
who may say the work described might have been 
done better. To such, I would say, I wish you had 
come into the field at the stage of progress which I 
entered it, and accomplished the work as you think 
it ought to have been done. It is quite easy to 



PEEFACE. VU 

criticise the labors of predecessors, without due 
regard to the stupendous disadvantages under which 
they have labored, and because things have not 
been brought to a stage of perfection, to say there is 
an evident failure in their plans and purposes. It 
is a doubtful question, however, whether these 
critics could have done better under the same diffi- 
cult circumstances. 

Breaking up the ground and sowing the seed 
always precedes the harvest. The forest has to be 
leveled and much hard labor has to be accomplished 
before towns and cities can be built; and if some of 
my successors do not find the cities already built, 
they will at least find some degree of foundation 
upon which to build. 

When I transferred the mission of Northern Mex- 
ico to the A. B. C. F. M., I claimed only that a 
FOUNDATION had been laid, and that the super- 
structure had yet to be reared. Although there 
were six organized churches, with some hundreds 
of converted Mexicans, and a school attached to 
each church, with a training school for boys in the 
seminary building in Monterey, also an abundance 
of precious seed scattered over the land, yet I pre- 
sented the field as very needy and in great want of 
efficient laborers for 'perfecting this work, and for 



via PREFACE. 

fully carrying out the plans and purposes which had 
been laid in faith and prayer. May God enable 
those who take up this work to rightly understand 
it, and give due honor to the agencies which have 
preceded them. 

The gathering of those churches has been done 
mainly through the instrumentality of native Chris- 
tians. With the experience which they had gained 
of the gospel of Christ, they were enabled to reach 
the hearts of their fellow-countrymen with the same 
blessed truths far more successfully than any foreign 
missionary who might have been brought upon the 
field could have done. There are peculiarities of 
Mexican mind and character which foreigners fail 
to understand or reach. Many, very many, of the 
blinded votaries of the papacy in Mexico have been 
brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in 
Jesus through the instructions imparted them by 
these unlettered Bible readers. To undervalue and 
set at naught this heaven-approved instrumentality 
I can not but regard as a sin against the Holy Ghost. 
To those who lightly estimates these labors, I say, 
with tearful eyes, be careful in your judgment, lest 
the Master who called them into His service, and 
has so significantly accepted this service, be wounded 
in the house of his professed friends. 



PREFACE. IX 

Also, I would say to all whom it may concern, 
that in giving this brief history of my mission 
among the Mexicans, I have most strenuously en- 
deavored to avoid appropriating undue honor to 
myself. I have felt it an imperative duty, and it 
has been my pleasure, to recognize the labors done 
by others on the field, and to duly notice those 
labors as far as was consistent with the brevity of 
my narrative. After I carried my mission into 
Mexico in 1865, I worked mainly through others, 
employing both American and native laborers, some- 
times having fifteen at a time in the various de- 
partments of the field, and being obliged often to 
leave the work in the charge of suitable persons to 
come to the United States to solicit the funds for 
their support. This work I claimed for the Amer- 
ican and Foreign Christian Union, and under whose 
auspices I planted this first mission in Northern 
Mexico. No other missionary society entered this 
field until 1870, at which time the Baptist Home 
Missionary Society employed their first laborer, 
Rev. Thomas Westrup. In 1871, the Friends sent 
a missionary to the State of Tamaulipas. In 1872, 
the Presbyterian Board of Missions sent their first 
missionaries to the State of Zacatecas, and also to 
the City of Mexico. In 1873, the Methodist Board 



X PEEFACE. 

of Missions sent Rev. Dr. Butler to the City of 
Mexico. The Episcopalians have a mission in 
Mexico, but I am not fully acquainted with the 
facts of its origin, or of the date of its commence- 
ment. Probably Rev. Mr. Riley, who is an Epis- 
copalian, has transferred his mission in the City of 
Mexico to that denomination — am not positive. 

If, in my representations, I have made any mis- 
takes, I will most cheerfully rectify those mistakes 
when convinced that such have been made. 

That this little book shall be an exponent of 
truth and justice has been my chief desire and aim; 
and that God will bless it as it goes forth to the 
public is my most earnest prayer. 

MELINDA RANKIN. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

Why this book was written— The question of woman's proper 
sphere — A consecration to missions . . . .15 

CHAPTER 11. 
What wilt Thou have me to do ? — Wants of the "Valley of the 
Mississippi — Two years in Kentucky ; thence to the State of 
Mississippi — Delighted with the "Sunny South " . 19 

CHAPTER III. 
Looking over into Mexico — A darlc prospect — Responsibility of 
American Christians — Public appeals unavailing — Resolved 
to go to Mexico — Closed my labors in Mississippi and started 
for Mexico— Remarkable Providences— Could not get imme- 
diately into Mexico — Decided to go to Texas — Incidents of 
travel 22 

CHAPTER IV. 
Entrance into Texas — A beautiful country — Located at Hunts- 
ville — Interesting field of labor — Arrested by sickness — Re- 
covery — Greatly desiring to carry the torch of Divine Truth 
to the millions of Mexico 29 

CHAPTER V. 

Entrance upon work for the Mexican people— Important infor- 
mation gained through Rev. Daniel Baker — Sight of a live 
Mexican — Heartfelt sympathy for the whole nation — No 
place for boarding could be obtained — Home of my own — 
Could not go into Mexico with the Bible — Opened a school 
for Mexican children on the American side of the Rio Grande 
— Encouraged in my efforts in teaching the Bible — Dangers 
of living on the frontier — Exchanging a Bible for a "saint" 
— Distribution of Bibles among Mexicans on the American 
and Mexican side of tbe river 34 

CHAPTER VI. 

Recruits of the enemy from abroad — Looking to God for help 
against the mighty — A French convent jjroposed — Resolved 
to erect a Protestant seminary by its side — Protestant 
Christians must aid me— Soliciting funds — Encounters with 
two business men — Aid from the Presbyterian Board of 
Education 43 

CHAPTER VII. 
Laborious work to obtain money for the Mexicans — Some pro- 

(xi) 



Xll CONTE^^TS. 

posed bullets instead of Bibles — Variety of treatment — ■ 
Helped by a Catholic — Treated rudely by a lady — Find 
many friends to the cause — Finally obtain sufficient funds 
for my seminary building 51 

CHAPTER YIII. 
Return to Brownsville — The convent built — Contracted with a 
responsible man for the erection of my building — Rented 
rooms, and opened my school again — School soon full — Com- 
menced Bible and Tract distribution — Unbelief of Protest- 
ants — Enter my new seminary — Dedication — Much encour- 
agement by new openings of usefulness ... 57 

CHAPTER IX. 
Need of help — The appeal made — Letter published by the 
American and Foreign Christian Union — An effort made to 
find a suitable colporteur — None could be found — Become a 
colporteur myself — The A, & F. C. U. furnishing an assist- 
ant in my school — Incidents of Bible work — Murder of a 
German Protestant 63 

CHAPTER X. 
Troubled waters — A storm of persecution — School nearlj' broken 
up— Judgments of God pronounced— Submitting the case 
to God, and waiting for a manifestation — Sudden removal 
of the instigator of the x>ersecution — Work resumed and 
school full again 71 

CHAPTER XI. 
A revolution for religious freedom — The Priest Party and Lib- 
eral Partj^ — Immense revenues of the church party — Juarez 
an able leader of the liberal party — Letters written to tlie 
A. & F. C. U. at that time — The Scriptures going rapidly 
into Mexico — Fifteen hundred copies of the Scriptures, and 
more than two hundred thousand pages of tracts — Severe 
affliction and sickness — Touching fidelity of a Mexican 
woman — The bandit Cortinas — Brownsville invaded — Four 
weeks absence in Matamoras — A school with New Testa- 
ments — Two JNIexican women wondering why thej^ had ever 
prayed to saints — Another burning her images — Final 
triumph of the Lilieral party — A great demand for Bibles 
and tracts for Mexico — The American Bible and Tract So- 
cieties supplying 75 

CHAPTER XII. 
Wrote to the Bible Society for an Agent — Rev. Mr. Tliompson 
receives an appointment — Goes into Mexico — Brings two 
Mexicans to Brownsville, who unite with tlie Protestant 
Church — Desirous of going to Monterey — French interven- 
tion and civil war prevented — Rev. Mr. Hickey appointed 
agent for the Bible Society — The French intervention threat- 
ens Protestantism- Maximilian and Carlotta— Carlotta's in- 



CONTENTS. XUl 



sanity — French troops withdrawn— Maximilian finally exe- 
cuted — Religious freedom nobly outrides the storm . 87 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Compelled to leave my seminary — A Presbyterian minister de- 
mands the keys — Went to Matamoras — Happy in being on 
Mexican soil— Obliged to leave — Resolved to go to the 
United States— Delayed at Bagdad — Quartered on a schooner 
— One of our company murdered by the rebels— Leaving 
Bagdad— Entreated to remain in New Orleans . . 97 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Visiting the hospitals — Delicacies solicited in New Orleans — Per- 
sonal distribution of them — Scenes of suffering — Pj-incipal 
of school for Freedmen — An old preacher learning the al- 
phabet — Desirous of returning to my Mexican work . 105 

CHAPTER XV. 
Brownsville taken by the United States troops — The garrison 
burned — Attempt to burn the town — Return to Brownsville 
— Find the Seminary building greatly injured — Repaired it, 
and opened my school — Troops recalled — Obliged to leave — 
Return to New Orleans — Maximilian decides to sustain re- 
ligious liberty in Mexico — Start for Monterey — Another 
visit to Bagdad — Close of the war — What the people of Bag- 
dad thought— Assassination of President Lincoln . 113 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Seeking Protestant head-quarters — No missionary Society had 
entered Mexico — Necessity of a permanent Protestant Mis- 
sion—Monterey regarded the most important point— Suita- 
ble buildings necessary — Resolve to come to the United 
States for money— Trip from Monterey to Matamoras — 

Taken prisoner by Cortinas 120 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Arrive in New York — The American and Foreign Christian 
Union approve my plan — Obliged to make personal solic- 
itation from individuals — First donation $500— Crowning 
donation $10,000, by one individual— Returned to Monterey 
— Rev. Mr. Hickey's death— Mr. Thomas Westrup appointed 
by the B. S. as successor — Purchased a building for the 
Protestant mission— Mexican converts would make good 
missionaries— Decided to employ four — Resolve to go to the 
U. S. and obtain it — Appeal to the Christian ladies — Favor- 
able response by the ladies of Hartford and New Haven, 
Conn. — Returned to Monterey— Mission house ready for oc- 
cupancy — Commissioned the Bible-readers to go forth 129 
CHAPTER XVI I L 

Regions beyond— Send Bible-readers to the State of Zacatecas— 
Influence of an American gentleman — Letter from the 
"Christian World"— Bible agent baptizes forty converts— 



XIV CONTENTS. 

This mission transferred, in 1871, by the A. & F. C. IT. to the 
Presbyterian Board of Missions— Details of the work — The 
priests discomfited— An open Bible their dread . . 139 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Mission commenced in the City of Mexico — Bibles had been cir- 
culated by the British Bible Society — View of the work — 
Letter from an Englishman 152 

CHAPTER XX. 

Evangelical Society of Oaxaca, also one at Saltillo — Procured 
the services of Rev. John Beveridge — Four churches— Mr. 
Westrup decides to become a Baptist — The majority of Mex- 
ican converts decide not to go with him — Ordination of two 
ministers — Two more churches organized — Opening fields in 
the " region beyond " 157 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Image of the Virgin destroyed — Protestiints suspected — " Death 
to the Protestants" determined by a mob— Appeal to the 
Mexican authorities ; also to the American Minister — Pro- 
tection obtained — Destroyers of the image unknown — Sup- 
posed to be instigated by the priests .... 170 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Revolution of 1871 — Dissatisfaction with Juarez — Difficulty of 
obtaining soldiers — Peace-loving Mexicans — Battle fought 
six miles from the city — The generals flee, and the soldiers 
rush into town to rob and murder — Determine to protect 
the mission property — Soldiers at window, demanding life 
or money — Four men killed on my sidewalk— Escape to 
friends — Men brought to order 175 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
The people determine the trouble should cease— The Generals 
consent to obtain terms from Juarez — Three men sent to the 
city of Mexico— Juarez rejects them — His death — Lerdo de 
Tejada came in power — An amnesty proclamation — Mission 
again prospered — Obtained a competent teacher for a young 
men's training school in Monterey 18(j 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Failing healtli— Resignation to the Master's will— Came to New 
York — The A. & F. C. U. decline to receive my resignation 
— Finally left me to transfer the Mission as I thought 
proper— Concluded to transfer it to the A. B. C. F. M.— Ac- 
cepted 191 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Concluding thoughts— True policy of treating Catholics— Dea- 
con Stoddard's advice— The crowning joy of my work 
among the Mexican people 197 



Twenty Years Among the Mexicans. 



CHAPTER I. 



"Why this book was written — The question of woman's proper 
sphere fully decided — A consecration to missions — Patient 
waiting. 

SINCE the failure of my health has compelled 
me to retire from active service on the field, 
the question has been repeatedly asked me, " Why 
do you not write a history of your mission among 
the Mexicans?" Various considerations, having 
weight in my own mind, at first repelled such an 
idea, and I uniformly replied, "I am utterly op- 
posed to autobiographies. And it savors too much 
of egotism for me to set forth to the public my 
own personal labors. Besides, I do not claim very 
wonderful displays of magnanimity in any thing I 
have done. Therefore I am not at all disposed to 
put my deeds in print, as if I believed them de- 
serving of especial admiration and praise." 

The question, however, has continued to be re- 
peated, and that by persons to whose opinion I 
owed respect. One reverend divine, whom I met 
for the first time, said to me, " You owe the Chris- 

(15) 



16 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

tian public a narrative of the way iu whicli God 
has led you. Your work among the Mexicans has 
been, most emphatically, the Lord^s work, and it 
seems to me He claims that it should be displayed 
for His name's sake/' 

This was a new view of the subject, and I felt 
constrained to take the matter into serious consid- 
eration. Could God be glorified in the effort, I 
felt willing to take up the cross — for such it seemed 
to me — and to write out the simple facts connected 
with my work among the Mexicans. And if, in 
now giving the details as they come up in my 
memory, the glory of God shall appear to be the 
paramount object, I shall probably lay them be- 
fore the public; but should I discover the motive 
to be self-glorification, I shall, most unhesitatingly, 
commit the manuscript to the flames. 

One very important consideration which inspires 
me to this undertaking is the hope that I may 
prove, by actual facts which have occurred in one 
woman's life, that our Divine Master has still work 
for woman to do in His kingdom on earth. When 
we look into the New Testament we see the impor- 
tant service rendered Him by woman ; and we not- 
ice also that He not only recognized it, but highly 
commended it. In relation to an act performed by 
woman He said, " Wherever the gospel is preached 
throughout the whole world, this that this woman 
has done shall be spoken of as a memorial of her." 
To a very great extent the prevailing sentiment 



TWENTY YEARS AMO^'G THE MEXICANS. 17 

among Christ's people has been, that woman's 
work should be necessarily circumscribed, lest she 
transcend the delicacy belonging to her sex. To 
unwomanly aspirations or conduct I am as much 
opposed as any one. But had public sentiment 
been my guide some forty years ago, I should 
probably have settled down in my New England 
home with the belief that it was highly improper 
for me to undertake any signal enterprise for the 
advancement of Christ's kingdom. But when the 
light of the glorious Gospel of the Sou of God 
si 1 one into my heart the desire for its extension 
throughout the whole world took entire possession 
of me. Impressed with the responsibility of be- 
ing a redeemed sinner, I wondered how I Avas to 
find vent for the boundless aspirations which pos- 
sessed my whole being, and I almost rebelled 
ao^ainst the will of mv heavenly Father at the 
limited sphere which He seemed to have allotted 
me. In this unquiet frame, I providentially came 
across the chapter in Paul's Epistle to the Corin- 
thians in which he says, '^ But now hath God set 
the members every one of them in the body, as 
it hath pleased him. And if they were all one 
member, where were the body? But now are 
they many members, yet but one body. And the 
eye can not say unto the hand, I have no need 
of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have 
no need of you. Nay, much more those mem- 
bers of the body, which seem to be more feeble, 
2 



18 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

are Decessary." I immediately came to the con- 
clusion that, as a member of Christ's body, al- 
though a feeble one, I had a mission to fulfill, 
aud one sufficiently ample for occupying all the 
powers of the body and soul. I felt no proscrip- 
tion on account of my sex; nay, I could, and did, 
adopt the noble sentiment of the lamented Ev- 
arts, Secretary of the American Board of Missions, 
who was removed by death soon after his appoint- 
ment. In the acceptance of the responsible posi- 
tion, he writes : ^' Henceforth, if it please Him, I 
am to consecrate myself — my soul and body and 
all I have — to a direct effort to execute, in union 
with others, the last command of the ascended 
Saviour," 



TWEXTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 19 



CHAPTER II. 

What wilt Thou have me to do ? — My labors must be beyond 
the bounds of New England — Wants of the Valley of the 
Mississippi — Two years in Kentucky ; thence to the State 
of Mississippi — Delighted with the "Sunny South" — Must 
divest myself of love of place merely from its worldly at- 
tractions. 

MY Master, I felt assured, accepted this consecra- 
tion which, from my heart, I had thus made, 
and from thenceforth I regarded myself pledged 
to perform such work as He might assign me. I 
was impressed that my mission would be among 
the needy and destitute ; consequently beyond the 
bounds of New England. From the period of this 
consecration a series of trials commenced which 
seemed especially appointed by God to test the 
sincerity and depth of my motives. The Master, 
I felt assured, was trying my spirit as silver is 
tried, in order to prepare me for some special 
work. With the full conviction that in due time 
my life's mission would be shown me, I endeav- 
ored to " be faithful over the few things,^' and ap- 
plied myself with earnest devotion to a thorough 
preparation, and also to teaching the young, both 
in Sabbath and week-day schools. During those 
years of waiting and preparing, at intervals would 
light from heaven sliine upon my pathway as upon 



20 TWENTY YEAKS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

some of old. With the unmistakable aptness of the 
language of inspiration would these words come 
unto me: "Fear not, I have called thee by thy 
name ; " " Thou art mine.^' Oftentimes would I 
be impressed with this command: "Get thee out 
of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come 
into the land Avhich I will show you/^ When 
motives stronger than life urged me to remain in 
my dear New England, the sentiment of the Apos- 
tle would impress me with irresistible force: '^Ne- 
cessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me" if 
I go not to the needy and destitute. Divine grace 
finally prevailed, and duty impelled me to take 
the advance step towards my appointed work. I 
scarcely knew what it was to be, yet I endeavored 
" to set the Lord before me ; ^' " and because He 
was at my right hand,'' I knew I should be guided 
aright. At that time there was a great call for 
missionary teachers to go to the Valley of the Mis- 
sissippi. In consequence of European emigration, 
Roman Catholicism was fast gaining ground in that 
])ortion of country, and urgent appeals were made 
by American Protestantism for counteracting influ- 
ences. Under the all-inspiring conviction of duty, 
with steadfast, yet cheerful purpose, I bade adieu 
to my New England home and friends, and took 
up my way toward the West, going as far as Ken- 
tucky, which, at that period (1840), was considered 
quite a remote region. In this State I found a 
great need of Christian teachers, and, although it 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS, 21 

did not seem to be the field which answered ray ut- 
most aspirations, yet I remained there nearly two 
years, establishing schools, and sending on to New 
England for teachers. I then went to the State of 
Mississippi, and in this new move I was conscious 
of the manifest direction of God, which was clearly 
shown by the opening of the way, and by the wel- 
come reception which I received from the people 
of that region. I could see even there abundance 
of reason why I should have left our highly fa- 
vored New England, to fill a position so needy as 
the one which I was called immediately to occupy. 
The beautiful '' Sunny South," with its highly 
cultivated and refined society, charmed me, and I 
fain wonld have made a permanent residence amid 
its delightful scenes; but often w^ould the startling 
question sound in my ears, " What doest thou here, 
Elijah?" and I would arouse to the consciousness 
that I was on enchanted ground, and that I must 
divest myself of love of place merely from its world- 
ly attractions. 



22 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER III. 

Looking over into Mexico — A dark prospect — Eesponsibility 
of American Christians — Public appeals unavailing — Re- 
solved to go to Mexico — Closed my labors in Mississippi 
and started for Mexico — Eemarkable Providences — "A 
little child shall lead them" — Could not get immediately 
into Mexico — Decided to go to Texas — Incidents of travel 
— Unpkasant delay on Eed River. 

THE dark places of the earth seemed to me the 
most fitting spot for one who had made a con-, 
secration of all to Christ and His cause ; but I re- 
mained *in Mississippi, with some intervals of ab- 
sence, until 1846, at which time our country was 
engaged in war with Mexico. Mississippi was 
largely represented in that war, and when it closed 
I learned through returned soldiers and officers 
much about the moral destitution prevailing among 
the people of Mexico. Here, I learned, was a coun- 
try right upon our border from which the light of 
the Bible had been excluded for centuries. Indeed, 
a pure Christianity had never penetrated these dark 
regions, as all the previous history of Mexico clearly 
proved. Upon the advent of the Spanish conquer- 
ors of Mexico, Roman Catholicism, with all its idol- 
atrous rites, was substituted for paganism. Not- 
withstanding the assumptions of the Roman system 
of religion, it proved fully as demoralizing, and 
which, besides its corrupting tendencies, ground 



TWE2s^TY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 23 

down the poor inoifeiisive people under the most 
despotic bondage. This system of religion had 
reigned supreme, under a tyrannical priesthood, for 
more than three hundred years, and its legitimate 
fruits were fully apparent by the moral degrada- 
tion prevailing throughout one of the fairest coun- 
tries upon the globe. My sympathies became en- 
listed in behalf of these long-suffering and neglected 
people. Our country had conquered them and sub- 
jugated them to its own terms ; and was there noth- 
ing more demanded for this bleeding, riven, and 
desolated country? Were there no hearts to com- 
miserate the helpless condition of these perishing 
millions of souls under the iron heel of papal power, 
with all its soul-destroying influences ? I could not 
avoid the impression that an important duty de- 
volved upon Evangelical Christendom to try and 
do something for the moral elevation of this people, 
who had so long been "sitting in the region and 
shadow of death." Indeed, I felt that the honor of 
American Christianity most imperatively demanded 
that some effort should immediately be made. So 
strongly impressed- was I of this that I wrote sev- 
eral articles for publication, hoping to enlist an in- 
terest araong^ the churches and missionary boards ; 
but my appeals met with no response, and I re- 
solved, God helping me, to go myself to Mexico 
and do what I could do for the enlightenment of 
her long-neglected people. Although I could not 
preach the Gospel to them, yet I felt that I could. 



24 TWENTY YEAKS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

in ways adapted to my appropriate sphere, do some- 
thing for bringing its blessings among them. 

The unsettled condition of Mexico prevented me 
from going there immediately, yet I resolved to set 
my face thitherward, and wait the indications of 
God^s Providence, in the confidence that an oppor- 
tunity would be presented for the fulfillment of my 
cherished desires. In pursuance of this object, I 
closed my labors in Mississippi in May of 1847. 
It was with extreme reluctance that my patrons 
would accede to my plans of leaving them for go- 
ing among the Mexicans, yet when they fully un- 
derstood my motives, they finally acquiesced. 
However painful I found the breaking away from 
my long cherished friends, I realized I had a still 
greater trial before me, as I must go to Texas in 
order to get into Mexico, and I well knew that 
Texas, as well as Mexico, was not a place to which 
an unprotected woman would aspire to go, from 
any expectation of comfort or perhaps of safety. 
But I felt the word to be "Go forward ; " and 
although the waves of uncertainty dashed high and 
loud, yet I must venture upon the simple command 
of God, believing that a promise was a})pended 
equal to the circumstances. 

I girded on the armor of faith; took a final 
leave of the kindest of friends, and went to Vicks- 
burg for taking a steamer down the Mississippi 
river. I took passage, without any definite con- 
clusion which route I should take; Avhether I 



TWENTY YEAllS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 25 

should go into Eastern Texas, by tlie way of Red 
River, or go to New Orleans, and there take a 
vessel for Western Texas. My final place of des- 
tination was fully decided, but the way of going to 
it, I must commit to Him who called me. I im- 
mediately went into my state-room, and sat down 
to contemplate my undertaking. All the absurdity 
of starting to Texas, with a view of going to Mex- 
ico, was permitted to take possession of me. How 
presumptuous it appeared to go to Texas, which, 
although then annexed to the United States, was, 
according to report, and general impression, 
peopled by outlaws and renegades from other lands. 
What would my parents and friends say if they 
knew of my mad purpose ? On the other hand I 
reflected thus: Why have I taken this step? 
How came I possessed with the idea of going on 
such a hazardous expedition ? Did it not come 
from above? Surely, the Lord has put this into 
my heart, or I never should have come to such a 
decision as starting for Mexico. He has inclined 
me to set my foot forward, and I will trust Him to 
be my guide and protector. My agitated and anx- 
ious feelings became calmed, and I arose, went out, 
and stood upon the guards of the steamer. While 
in peaceful contemplation, looking upon the beauti- 
ful scenery on the banks of the river, there came a 
little girl, about ten years of age, and stood beside 
me. I addressed her, as I usually do children with 
whom I fall in company while traveling, by ask- 
3 



26 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

iiig her, '' Where are you going ? '^ In answer to 
my question she very readily replied, " I am going 
to Texas.'' 

" Ah ! " said I, " and I am going to Texas, too." 
Then I put the question, " To what part of Texas 
are you going? " 

She replied, '' I do not know, as I have never 
been there, .but am going with my uncle to live 
with him.'' She added, " I will ask my uncle, and 
tell you to what place in Texas we are going.'^ 

I very soon went into the ladies saloon, and 
after having been seated some little time, there 
came in a very respectable appearing gentleman, 
who took a seat near, and addressed me, by saying, 
" My niece informs me you are going to Texas." 

I replied that 1 Avas. 

He inquired, " To what part of Texas are you 
going?" 

Here was a dilemma, but I came up bravely to 
the occasion by replying, " I have no definite place 
of destination." 

This elicited a more direct query, "But wliy, 
and for what purpose, do you go to Texas? " 

I then gave him a brief detail of the motives 
which inspired me in turning my attention in tliat 
direction. But, as I doubted whether I would be 
able to carry out the design of immediately going 
among the Mexicans, I purposed to remain in 
Texas, for a time, and assist in the educational and 
reliojious interests of that new State. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 27 

The gentleman almost bounded from his seat, 
and with much evident pleasure congratulated me 
upon such a praiseworthy enterprise. He added, 
^' ^Ye are truly in want of good teachers in Texas; 
indeed, it is the great and pressing need at this 
stage of progress in the State." He said, also, that 
before he left Texas for Washington, some three 
months previous, he was requested by the trustees 
of the Female Academy at Huntsville, Texas, to 
procure for them a lady teacher, but had failed to 
do so, as his time had been so completely occupied 
in business with the Government, concerning the 
establishment of mail routes in Texas, that he had 
not found time. ^^ Besides," added he, "I could 
hardly venture to ask a well qualified young lady, 
with the unfavorable impressions which prevail 
against Texas, to go to the ^ Lone Star State.^" 
He said he presumed the situation was still vacant, 
and proposed that E should go on in company with 
him and his niece and occupy it. He would re- 
gard it as a special favor if I would take charge 
of the little girl, and said he w^ould gladly render 
me the necessary assistance for traveling in Texas, 
as I should find much difficulty for the lack of 
suitable conveyance. 

I was inclined to believe that God, who had given 
me such cheerful confidence in his guiding hand, 
had provided this way for my entrance into Texas, 
and I was disposed to take this kind proposition 
into careful consideration, although made by an 



28 TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

entire stranger. He was going by the way of the 
Red River, and I should have nearly two days 
travel before leaving the steamer, upon which I 
had already taken passage, for further acquaint- 
ance. At the close of the second day, I finally de- 
cided upon landing at the mouth of Red River, 
and taking passage with my new-made friends. I 
found the little girl a pleasant young companion, 
and the gentleman, in manners and conduct, such 
as inspired my confidence. 

The boat upon which we ascended the river was 
quite small, as the depth of water would not admit 
of the larger steamers. The meandering course of 
the stream made our trip slow and somewhat un- 
pleasant, yet the consciousness that I was on the 
way to the land to which the Lord had called me, 
greatly lessened the tediousness. When we arrived 
opposite Alexandria, La., our craft ran upon a sand- 
bar, and made a final stop. All efforts to extricate 
the boat seemed to be ineffectual, and for four days 
we remained in the middle of the river, exposed to 
the burning sun of June. A more uncomfortable 
condition could scarcely be imagined, and passen- 
gers and crew became quite disheartened. 



TWE^'TY YEAPvS AMO>'G THE MEXICAisS. 29 



CHAPTER lY. 

Prayer to God for deliverance — On our ^ay again — Entrance 
into Texas — A beautiful country — Located at Huntsville 
— Interesting field of labor — Arrested by sickness — Ee- 
cover}' — Aiding in religious and educational enterprises— 
Greatly desiring to carry the torch of Divine Truth to the 
millions of Mexico. 

THE river was daily becomiDg more shallow, and 
the hope of fiuding any other means of con- 
veyance coidd not be indulged. Railroads, at that 
early day, especially in that region, were not found 
at every turn to convey waiting passengers to 
almost any point of compass. Neither, indeed, 
were stage coaches to be obtained in that portion 
of country in which our lot had cast us. 

About the middle of the fourth day I began to 
feel somewhat as Bunyan's Pilgrim did in the cave 
of Giant Despair. His extremity was such as to 
remind him of a forgotten key which he carried iu 
his bosom, by means of which he was enabled to 
unlock the strong gates of his prison, and he and 
his companion walked out of the dismal cell in 
which they were imprisoned, into light and liberty. 
The question arose in my mind, Are there no pray- 
ing souls on board ? God alone can help us, and I 
will make mention of the arm of Omnipotence, and 
see if there be any who will respond. I touched 



30 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

the key-note, and was rejoiced to find several of 
the passengers who immediately caught the im- 
pulse. '^ God will be inquired of before deliver- 
ance comes/' became the watchword. The after- 
noon was spent in reheai-sing the dealings of God 
with us in times past, and in acknowledging our 
continued dependence upon Him. The means 
used were blest, as we believed in answer to prayer, 
and before sunset our boat was extricated from the 
cruel bar which so long had held us, and we were 
soon on our way again. 

During our delay, my gentleman friend went to 
Alexandria, and there met one of the trustees of 
Huntsville Academy, who informed him they were 
still waiting for a teacher, and requested him to 
make a positive engagement with me to go directly 
on to Huntsville. We continued our way up the 
river as far as Natchitoches, La., where we landed, 
for going to Texas. A carriage and horses were 
purchased, and we traveled the remainder of the 
way, which was three hundred miles, by land. 
The miserable and desolate looking country which 
I had })ictured, in my imagination, Texas to be, 
became transformed into one of the most beautiful 
regions I had ever before beheld. The splendid 
trees, the verdant plains, and great variety of wild 
flowers, conspired to make the scene an enchanting 
one. Instead of a wild and uncultivated popula- 
tion, I found many highly refined and intelligent 
people, who had but a short time previous emi- 



TWENTY YEA US AMONG TPIE MEXICANS. 31 

grated from the Southern States to Texas. At 
Nacogdoches, a place of considerable importance, I 
was most urgently requested to remain as teacher 
for several families. The gentleman said, " If you 
are not pleased with Huntsville, write us, and we 
will send a carriage and bring you back/' But I 
was pleased with Huntsville. I found a town of 
some five or six hundred inhabitants, most of whom 
had come to Texas after the annexation to the 
United States. Several of the families had 
daughters, who had been partially educated before 
they emigrated, and they greatly desired the con- 
tinuance of their education in their adopted home. 
My reception was most cordial, and as one after 
another welcomed me with the warmest greetings, I 
said to myself, surely ^' My lines are fallen in pleasant 
places." Was it singular that I sometimes cast my 
mind back to the time of my starting for Texas ; 
when, in my lonely stateroom, on the INIississippi 
steamer, I indulged in painful and doubtful 
soliloquy upon the adventure I was about making? 
After realizing such w^onderful displays of the lov- 
ing kindness of my Heavenly Father in my be- 
half, could I ever doubt again in following wherever 
He, in His Providence, may see fit to lead me? 
No, never; but we shall see. There are other 
steeps to climb before life's work is finished, and 
faith may again falter — but we will not anticipate. 
^' Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof 

I commenced my labors at Huntsville under the 



32 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

most favorable auspices, and various departments 
of usefulness opened before me. Besides week-day 
and Sunday-schools, I lent a helping hand in writ- 
ing for some religious and educational periodicals, 
which were then just in their incipiency. As I 
could not venture among the Mexicans at that 
time, I felt that my duty lay, for the time being, 
among the Texans. Every thing conspired to 
make my situation peculiarly delightful, and I 
worked with a purpose commensurate with the de- 
mands. Surely, I thought, I am sailing on beau- 
tiful waters. But, oh ! when one year rolled 
around my overtaxed system gave way, and I was 
reluctantly obliged to succumb. How keenly I 
felt the blow ! To give up my dearly cherished 
work was, in my estimation, an unparalleled mis- 
fortune. My nervous system was much affected, 
and my mind indulged in very uncomfortable 
vagaries. An nnfulfilled resjionsibility seemed 
resting upon me, and my constant grief was I must 
die and leave the anticipated work of my life un- 
done. On one hand was a life purpose unaccom- 
plished, and on the other a sinking, dying body. 
I was much relieved one day by words of comfort 
from a cherished Christian friend. Making my 
doleful lamentations to him, he replied, with much 
emphasis, "You are not called to die yet, but you 
will live to accomjilish some work for God.^^ I 
replied. Oh ! can such a boon be granted me, I will 
welcome life on any shore, and among any people. 



TWE>'TY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 33 

however inhospitable ! After several month's of 
intense suffering, both of body and of mind, a new 
lease of life was granted, by a partial restoration 
of my health, so I was able again to resume my 
labors. 

My bitter experience had taught me to take 
better care of the tenement in which I dwelt, and 
I endeavored to limit my duties to the amount of 
physical ability I possessed. I assisted in the es- 
tablishment of schools, devoting a portion of my 
time to writing for publication. A little book, 
entitled ^' Texas, 1850,'^ was the product of my pen, 
in which I endeavored to show the great need of 
evangelical laborers in Texas, not only on its own 
account, but on account of its prospective influence 
over Mexico. I do not think I made a very strik- 
ing exhibition of authorship, but the desire of 
benefiting those neglected countries by represent- 
ing their real condition, and their pressing wants, 
perhaps afforded an excuse for the attempt. I re- 
mained two years longer, building up schools in 
different parts of the State, and ever and anon cast- 
ing my eye towards the dark regions beyond, with 
earnest longings for the time when I would be per- 
mitted to carry the torch of Divine Truth to the 
millions of souls in Mexico who were buried be- 
neath the rubbish of papal error and superstition. 



34 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Entrance upon work for the Mexican people — Important in- 
formation gained through Eev. Daniel Baker — Decide to 
go to Brownsville — A Mexican population there — Sight of 
a live Mexican — Heartfelt sympathy for the whole nation 
— No place for boarding could be obtained — Home of my 
own — Could not go into Mexico with the Bible — The laws 
prohibiting Protestant Christianity — Opened a school for 
Mexican children on the American side of the Eio 
Grande — Encouraged in my efforts in teaching the Bible 
— The parents making no objections, but desiring the Bi- 
ble themselves — Dangers of living on the frontier — Trust 
in Providence — Exchanging a Bible for a "saint" — Dis- 
tribution of "Bibles among Mexicans on the American and 
Mexican side of the river. 

IN the spring of 1852 I believed the time had 
fully come for me to commence my work for 
the Mexican people. I had gained some very im- 
portant information in regard to my probable suc- 
cess, through Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., a Presby- 
terian minister, who, in 1850, had ascended the 
Rio Grande River as far as Roma, a distance of 
two hundred miles, for investigating the condition 
of the country for evangelical work. He repre- 
sented the Mexicans as accessible, and many of 
them manifesting the desire for instruction in the 
Bible. 

I left Jefferson, Eastern Texas, in May, and went 
to New Orleans to take passage on a vessel for 



Brazos Santiago, near the mouth of the Rio 
Grande River. I purposed going to Brownsville, 
a place situated about sixty miles up the river, 
opposite Matamoras, Mexico. The steamship for 
"which I waited brought news of the invasion of 
Brownsville, by Indians, of a very alarming char- 
acter. This condition of affairs, prevailing at the 
place of my destination, presented somewhat of an 
obstacle in the way of the further prosecution of 
my journey, as I had ho2:)ed that things had become 
sufficiently settled on the frontier to insure per- 
sonal safety at least. But could I turn back be- 
cause of difficulties in the wav ? I thouoht of the 
trials of " Pilgrim," who met lions in the way, 
and also of the advice given him " To keep in the 
middle of the road, and the lions could not harm 
him." " Duty to God " was my "watchword, and 
on His powerful arm I trusted for protection, and I 
resolved to go forward. Remaining in Xew Or- 
leans over the Sabbath, I attended what was then 
Rev. Dr. Scott's church, where I heard a sermon 
from a stranger (Dr. S. being absent) which fully 
established my faith in God's Providential dealings 
with his people. Although that stranger, who was 
a foreigner, judging by his dialect, may never 
know, in this world, the comforting message he 
brought to me on that occasion, perhaps a future 
day will reveal that it was a word spoken in 
season to one soul at least. AVith renewed courage 
I took passage, and crossed the Gulf of Mexico, 



36 TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

landing at Brazos, and passing over an arm of the 
sea, arrived at Point Isabel. There I took a stage 
for Brownsville. 

A new sensation seized me when I saw, for the 
first time, a Mexican, a representative of the nation 
for which I had entertained such profound interest. 
I did not feel, as many others have expressed, that 
the sight of a Mexican w^as enough to disgust one 
with the whole nation. A heartfelt sympathy w^as 
revived, not by the prepossessing exterior, surely, 
but because a priceless soul was incased in it for whom 
the Savior had died. And a whole nation of souls, 
shut out from the light of the gospel of salvation, 
pressed with an increased influence upon my heart. 
Although I was coming into a land of new and 
untried scenes, yet I felt God's presence encom- 
passing me, and I repeated the lines of Madame 
Guy on, 

"To me belongs nor time nor space, 
My country is in every place; 
I can be calm and free from care, 
On any shore, since God is there." 

Just before arriving in Brownsville, the driver 
of the stage asked me where I wished to be left. 
I replied, " Take me to the best hotel in town." 
He answered, '^ There is no hotel in Brownsville.'' 
This intelligence was somewhat of a damper upon 
my feelings and prospects, and I mused upon the 
unpleasant condition of a stranger arriving in such 
a place after nine o'clock at night. After a little 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 37 

time the driver said, ^^ I know a German woman 
who sometimes takes lady boarders, and I will take 
you to her house.'^ Accordingly, I was set down 
at this woman's door, and I found my way inside, 
and asked for a night's lodging. The woman 
kindly received nae, and I passed the night very 
comfortably. 

At ten o'clock the next day I sallied out in 
quest of more commodious quarters. I found an 
American family, with which I was invited to re- 
main a few days, but they could not give me per- 
manent board. After several applications for a 
boarding-place, I was finally compelled to provide 
a home for myself, which 1 did, by renting two 
rooms, one for a residence, and the other I intended 
appropriating to school purposes. The day before 
opening my school, I went to my rooms, but not 
under very auspicious circumstances. At dark, I 
had no bed to sleep on, nor did I know how I was 
to obtain my breakfast, to say nothing of a supper. 
But before the hour of retiring came, a Mexican 
woman brought me a cot, an American woman sent 
me a pillow, and a German woman came and said 
she would cook my meals and bring them to me. 
Did I not feel rich that night as I retired to my 
humble cot? Indeed, I never closed my eyes in 
sleep with more profound feelings of thankfulness 
to God. I fully believed I was where my Divine 
Master had called me to go — upon the border of 
that land where I had so long desired to be — and 



38 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

to whose })eople I trusted the Lord would make me 
eminently useful. 

Next morning I opened ni}^ school with five 
pupils, but more promised. The education of the 
children seemed the most feasable means of bene- 
fitting the people at that time, and I opened a 
school although upon the American side of the 
Rio Grande. The laws of Mexico, at that time, 
most positively forbade the introduction of Prot- 
estant Christianity in any form, and had I gone 
into Mexico proper for the purpose of teaching the 
Bible, I should have been imprisoned. 

That portion of Texas between the Rio Grande 
and Nueces Rivers had been claimed by Mexico 
previous to the late war, but the United States had 
conquered, and, consequently, it was under our 
government. Some thousands of Mexican people 
preferred remaining in their old homes, which fact 
gave me an opportunity of laboring among Mexi- 
cans under the protection of our own government. 
I was truly happy in a short time in obtaining some 
thirty or forty Mexican children, and giving them 
daily instruction in the Bible, against which the 
parents manifested no objection. I found some 
who could read in the Spanish language, and a few 
who had acquired some knowledge of the English. 
The parents were greatly desirous their children 
should learn the English language, and become 
Americanized, and hence my school received popu- 
lar favor on that account. To be able to put the 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 39 

Bible into the hands of three or four dozen Mexi- 
can cliildren, and give them instruction in its 
blessed teachings, I felt to be an unspeakable })riv- 
ilcge. Although the work might look small to the 
eye of human reason, yet faith bade me hope it 
might prove a beginning, and I was satisfied to work 
on, even in this small way. The parables of our 
Savior afforded me much encouragement, especially 
those in which He compares the kingdom of heaven 
to a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown, is 
the least of all seeds, yet from it sprang a tree 
sufficiently large for the fowls of heaven to lodge 
in its branches; also ^' to leaven, which a woman 
took (there was a good deal of significance in the 
fact that it was a looman) and hid in three measures 
of meal, until the whole was leavened.^^ 

My exposed situation made me exceedingly timid, 
especially by night, as Indians were reported to be 
upon the outskirts of the town, and liable any night 
to break in and commit depredations. Besides, 
there were any number of lawless Mexicans prowl- 
ing about for purposes of theft, etc. I was told 
" there were plenty who would take my life for the 
dress I took oft' at night.^\ My dwelling was near 
a house in which resided Caravajal, a Mexican 
general, who had besieged Matamoras a few months 
before, and who was liable to an arrest any time by 
the authorities of Matamoras. In order to repel 
an attack, he kept a body-guard stationed around 
liis house at night. Knowing I was alone, and un- 



40 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE [MEXICANS. 

protected, he kindly informed me that his guard 
would afford ample protection to my premises also; 
but I did not feel my safety augmented by having 
Caravajal, with all his dangers, so near me, even 
though he had provided himself the means of re- 
pelling his enemies. In case of an attack, my 
domicil, with its slender walls, would as likely be 
penetrated by bullets as his. During the first month 
of my residence in Brownsville, I suffered much 
anxiety, and kept almost a constant watch all 
through the lonely hours of night. Finally, I came 
to the conclusion that, should my house be dis- 
turbed by any of those marauders, I should feel it 
my duty to leave the field of labor, however in- 
viting, in other respects, it might be. But after 
watching some weeks, and no visible disturbance 
occurring, I resolved to remain, continue my work, 
and trust in Providence. I was enabled to relin- 
quish all my fears, and slept quietly, with a feeling 
of security as much as if I knew a sentinel was 
placed at each corner of my dwelling. " The name 
of the Lord is a strong tower ; the righteous run- 
neth into it, and is safe.'^ My school prospered, 
and I was encouraged in finding the Mexican chil- 
dren susceptible of moral and mental improvement. 
Many of them I found addicted to the vices pecu- 
liar to their race ; but, by proper instruction, I soon 
observed a very decided change. I was told by an 
American gentleman, who had had considerable 
acquaintance with Mexican character, that stealing 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 41 

was inherent among those people, and could not be 
eradicated. My experience entirely disproved this 
assertion, as after a few months, children, who would 
take things which did not belong to them, became 
convinced of the error, and entirely abandoned the 
practice. I endeavored to impress them that the 
Bible was God^s Book, and what He taught us in 
that we must obey. The instruction given to the 
children was conveyed by them to the parents, and 
tliey, too, wished to see the Book from whence the 
instruction was derived. A mother of one of the 
little girls of my school came to my door one day, 
l)ringing her ^' saint,'^ as slie called it; she said she 
had prayed to it all her life, and it had never done 
her any good, and asked me if I would take the 
^' saint '^ and give her a Bible for it. I very readily 
made the exchange. Indeed, I was well enough 
pleased to give her two Bibles, as she said she had 
a friend over in Matamoras who wanted the good 
Book also.* 

I visited many of the homes of my pupils, and 
wherever I could find any of the family who could 
read, I left a Bible, or a portion of it. I was much 
gratified in finding many of the adults who could 
read in their own language. This fiict greatly en- 
larged my prospect of benefiting the Mexican peo- 
ple, as they almost uniformly manifested a great 
desire to see what had been a proscribed Book to 

*■ This woman and her daughter afterward became my most 
efiieient helpers in the distribution of the Bible in Mexico. 
4 



42 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MrXICAXS. 

them. I believed the Bible to be the main instru- 
mentality of renovating that long-neglected race, 
and I aimed to extend its circulation among all 
■svhom I could by any means reach. But there were 
the millions upon the other side of the Kio Grande, 
who, by the most stringent laws of the government, 
were shut up in impenetrable darkness. When I 
cast my eye over into that priest-bound country, 
my heart yearned for its emancipation from the 
dreadful tyranny of papal laws. But upon my 
distressing thoughts a light suddenly arose by ascer- 
taining that Bibles were being carried over into that 
dark land by the Mexicans on the American side 
of the river. Although I knew the transfer of 
Bibles into Mexico to be a direct violation of the 
laws of the country, yet I felt no conscientious 
scruples in lending them my aid ; for I felt God^s 
Word to be above all human law, and no earthly 
power had the right of withholding it from any of 
God^s accountable creatures. 

Dozens of Bibles were carried over the river, and 
distributed among the people, who gladly received 
tliem. I became convinced that good might be 
done, even by this slight skirmishing upon the out- 
skirts of the enemy's camp. The missils which 
were being sent were of a character to do powerful 
execution; and I doubted not but it would ulti- 
mately be seen that, by them, essential damage had 
been received in this kingdom of darkness, where 
Satan had so long reigned with undisputed sway. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 43 



CHAPTER VI. 

Kecruits of the enemy from abroad — Looking to God for help 
against the mighty — A French convent proposed — Ee- 
solved to erect a Protestant seminary by its side — Started 
for New Orleans — Perils by sea — Proposed seminary re- 
garded chimerical by the ministers of New Orleans — 
Could not abandon ray purpose — Protestant Christians 
must aid me in building a seminary — Soliciting funds — 
Encounters with two business men — Aid from the Presby- 
terian Board of Education. 

IN the midst of the most sanguine expectations 
of permanent good upon this frontier, I was 
surprised, one day, by hearing that several priests 
and nuns had come from France to establish their 
head-quarters at Brownsville. They had brought 
means for erecting a convent, for the evident pur- 
pose of educating the youth of the Rio Grande 
Valley. Suddenly and unexpectedly, all my pros- 
pects of usefulness there seemed completely frus- 
trated ; for what could I do, with such an array of 
influences against Protestantism and the Bible? 
But, could I abandon the field, and leave it in the 
hands of foreign priests and nuns ? Indeed, I 
could not get my own consent to run before popery, 
while I held in my hand such a powerful spiritual 
weapon as the Word of God, and I was enabled to 
carry the matter to the throne of grace, and wait 
for Divine direction. I spent whole nights in 



41 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

prayer to God. During one of those seasons in 
which I was earnestly seeking for guidance, a h'ght 
suddenly dawned on my mind, from these words in 
the book of Revelation : ^' These shall make war 
with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome 
them : for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: 
and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, 
and faithful." The impression that these words 
made upon my heart, immediately settled the ques- 
tion of my remaining. Although single-handed 
and alone, yet, Avith the assurance derived from 
these words of Scripture, I felt stronger than my 
enemies; and I resolved to stay and maintain my 
post. In order to make a successful stand, I must 
have a building which would bear some compari- 
son with the party with which I had to compete. 
My accommodations hitherto had been exceedingly 
limited ; and, as I could obtain no aid from the in- 
habitants of that region, I resolved to go to the 
United States and secure the means for building a 
Protestant seminary at Brownsville. If France 
could afford to send four millions of dollars to the 
United States for educational purposes, (as she did 
that year) I felt that the Protestant Christians of 
the United States could afford a few hundred for 
the Rio Grande ; so, I closed my school, and set my 
face toward my native land, feeling quite assured of 
prompt and efiicient aid. The scene of my depart- 
ure was calculated to deepen my interest for these 
people. As I was about starting on the stage for 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 45 

Brazos, I was suiTOUDcled by the Mexican girls and 
their mothers, each uttering the earnest request, 
^^ come back,^^ " come bach very sog7i/' and they 
stood and watched me with tearful eyes, until I 
passed out of their sight. When. I arrived at 
Brazos, I could find no conveyance to New Orleans 
but a schooner, and that very small and inconven- 
ient. It being the time of the year for violent 
" Northers," we had a most tempestuous and 
dangerous passage. \ye were twelve days out, and 
for some four or five, we lay to in the middle of 
the Gulf, surging amid the angry waves. Great 
fears were entertained that our puny bark would 
go to the bottom of the sea; and for several nights 
I did not get into my berth, as the violent rocking 
of the vessel made it impossible to obtain a mo- 
ment's rest. Often did my natural timidity get 
the ascendency, and I would say to myself, ''If I 
ever set my foot on land again, I will never more 
attempt to cross the Gulf of Mexico." But I was 
tried in this fearful manner, until I was brought to 
exclaim, ''As long as my Heavenly Father wills, 
will I trust my life at his bidding, and, should He 
see fit to take me hence in this manner, I would 
say, ' Even so, come Lord Jesus/ " We finally 
arrived in New Orlean5i,_and learned that our ves- 
sel had been published in the Daily Picayune, 
"Supposed to be lost at sea." With gratitude for 
God's preserving care, I hastened with my darling 
object to see my Protestant friends, who, I felt 



46 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

quite assured would realize its importance and 
feasibility as I did. But my first presentation met 
with a decided disapproval. The idea of establish- 
ing a Protestant institution upon that papal frontier 
was regarded as chimerical and absurd in the ex- 
treme. The counselors to whom I resorted were 
some of the wisest and most reliable clergymen of 
the South, and, how could I lightly regard the 
judgment and advice of these Christian men? Yet, 
how was I to dispose of the impression that God 
had put the work into my hands, and required me 
to prosecute it. In inclining to follow the advice 
of my friends, the denunciations passed upon some 
in olden time would meet me, ^' Woe unto the re- 
bellious children, saith the Lord, who taKe counsel, 
but not of J/e.'^ I could no more throw off my 
duty to God in this matter, than I could throw off 
my existence ; and I resolved to go forward, and if 
needs be, take the kingdom of heaven by violence, 
in obedience to my rightful Lord and Master. A 
Protestant seminory must be reared in the Kio 
Grande Valley, under the auspices of Protestant 
Christians of the United States. 

I remained in Xew Orleans a month ; and, by 
persevering in the presentation of my cause, in all its 
various bearings and necessities, my most strenuous 
opposers became my warmest friends. The important 
query was raised, whether I had sufficient fortitude 
to withstand the difficulties which I must necessar- 
ily encounter in obtaining funds, as well as in 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 47 

sustaiDing a Protestant institution in the midst of 
so many opposing influences. I called, one day, 
upon a Christian gentleman, who most kindly ad- 
monished me that the undertaking was entirely 
incompatible with the character of a lady, and ad- 
vised me not to expose myself in collecting funds 
in the manner I was pursuing. He said, " You 
will receive rebuffs and insults which will kill all 
the finer instincts of the soul.^^ I felt there was 
much truth in what he said; and, thanking him for 
his candid expressions, I left his house with the 
feeling that I never would enter a business house 
again with my object. But another house was but a 
few steps, which I had been informed was the office 
of a good man, and an impulse seized me, to go in, 
and see what he had to say to me. Accordingly, I 
stepped in, and saw several gentlemen sitting at 
their desks, but I did not know the one to whom I 
wished to speak. I hastily cast my eye around, 
and selected the one who, I thought, possessed the 
most benevolent countenance, and approached him. 
He very politely requested me to be seated. I in- 
troduced myself by presenting my credentials, which 
I had received from the ministers of New Orleans, 
and commenced making apologies that a woman 
should be engaged in such an unlady-like enter- 
prize. 

" By no means,^^ said he, '' is it contrary to the 
most refined delicacy of the female sex to be en- 
gaged in works of philanthropy for the elevation 



48 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

of fallen humanity. It is woman's proper calling. 
The Savior forever sanctified the services of Avomen 
by the commendation he gave to them. Do not 
hesitate to go forward in any work of benevolence 
to which your Master may call you.'' Were not 
the timely words of this man like heavenly balm to 
my lacerated heart? It seemed Jesus spoke, and 
said to me, '^Fear not, it is your Father's good 
pleasure, to give you the kingdom;" and I went 
forward, determined never to falter again. Al- 
though I did not get much money in New Orleans, 
yet, I obtained letters of recommendation from 
several of the most influential men in the city. 

Leaving New Orleans, I went to Louisville, Ky., 
and was kindly received ; but, as the churches were 
engaged in making tlieir annual contributions to 
other objects, I received no present aid, but was 
promised that at some future time they would assist 
me in my enterprise. I then went on to Phila- 
delphia, arriving the 4th day of March, 1853, at 2 
o'clock in the morning. At 9 o'clock of the same 
morning I was wending my way to the rooms of 
the Presbyterian Board of Education, with a letter 
of introduction from Rev. Dr. Hill, of Louisville, 
to the secretaries, Drs. Chester and Van Rensselaer. 
With these reverend gentlemen I had to pass an- 
other severe and trying ordeal. All the difficulties 
of the enterprise were again brought forward, and 
paraded with considerable embellishment. I met 
them with arguments, which I thought ought to 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 49 

have weight, but they seemed to make but little 
impression upon either of the gentlemen, particu- 
larly upon Dr. Chester. He seemed determined 
that my enterprise should prove a failure. After 
talking some time, without making any apparent 
impression favorable to the cause, I arose and said, 
'^ Gentlemen, I leave the responsibilities of the 
proper education of the youth of that portion of 
country upon your hands. I have done what I 
can, and henceforth my skirts are clear of the 
criminal negligence of leaving the beloved youth 
of the Rio Grande Valley to the baleful influence 
of foreign popery.'^ Dr. Chester immediately 
arose to his feet, and with much emphasis, said, *'I 
am not going to take the Rio Grande upon my 
shoulders, you are the one to bear that burden. 
We have fully tested your proper understanding 
of the difficult enterprise, and your ability in 
carrying it forward. We are now ready to inquire 
of your wants.'' I replied, ^' I must have moneyj^ 
"How much,'' said he, ^'do you want of usf'^ I 
felt quite subdued and modestly replied, "two or 
three hundred dollars." He replied, "You must 
not leave Philadelphia with less than five hundred. 
If the Board of Education do not see proper to 
give you two hundred. Dr. Van Rensselaer and I 
will pay it out of our own pockets, and the remain- 
ing three hundred I will put you in the way of 
obtaining from the Presbyterian churches of the 
city." 

5 



50 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

I remained a month and obtained the amount 
promised, and then went on to Boston, and ob- 
tained from the churches of that city another five 
hundred. I became fully confident that a Protes- 
tant seminary would surely rear its head by tlie 
side of the French convent which was already ris- 
ing upon the distant Rio Grande. Oh! how my 
heart exulted in the prospect of the Bible having 
its place and exerting its due influence upon the 
hearts and minds of the rising generation of that 
land I 



I 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 51 



CHAPTER yil. 

Laborious work to obtain money for the Mexicans — Some 
proposed bullets instead of Bibles — Variety of treatment 
— Helped by a Catholic — Treated rudely by a lady — Not 
discouraged — Find many friends to the cause — Many 
liberal donations — Finally obtain sufficient funds for my 
seminary building. 

THE fatigue attending my arduous duties, com- 
pelled me to suspend my labors for a portion of 
the summer months. Early in the autumn, I started 
from Pittsburg, Pa., by steamer, intending to take 
the entire course of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, 
stopping at all towns and cities where I had any 
prospect of obtaining money. The prejudices ex- 
isting against the Mexicans, engendered during the 
late war, often proved great barriers to my success. 
The sentiment was expressed by many, that "the 
Mexicans were a people just fit to be exterminated 
from the earth.'' Even ministers of the gospel 
said to me, " We had better send bullets and gun- 
powder to Mexico than Bibles.'' Of such I gener- 
ally asked the question, '* What class of persons did 
our Savior come from heaven to save,, the right- 
eous or the wicked?" Just such a class of sinners 
as the Mexicans. Sometimes I would receive do- 
nations in this way, " We do not care for the Mex- 
icans, but, seeing you so devoted to their cause, we 



52 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

^vill give something for your sake." One man, 
after applying all the contemptible epithets to the 
Mexicans he could think of, said, "Out of pity to 
you, whose appearance and spirit I like, in having 
such a bad cause in hand, I will give you ten dol- 
lars for your own personal use." I declined receiv- 
ing it for myself, saying, " 3Ioney can not compen- 
sate me for what I am doing, but, if you will give 
it me to appropriate as I wish, I will do it upon 
my own responsibility." He consented, but I could 
not set him down as a " cheerful giver." At some 
places where I stopped, if I could obtain ten dollars 
a day, I would remain ten days, until I would get 
one hundred. At some cities, such as Cincinnati 
and Louisville, I received very liberal aid. Pur- 
suing my arduous way, "through rude and stormy 
scenes,'^ I arrived in Natchez, Miss., in March, 
1854. Here I found a wealthy and benevolent 
people, and I made rapid strides toward the com- 
pletion of my enterprise. The wealthy class of 
people lived mostly in the country, on plantations, 
and my canvassing was generally some distance 
from the city. Occasionally, friends would give 
me a ride, but usually I walked, and frequently I 
traveled some eight or ten miles a day; but my 
labor was so generously rewarded, I forgot the fa- 
tigue of the way. One day, I went to see a lady 
who was recommended as being very benevolent. 
Upon inquiry, I was told the lady was absent, but 
that her husband was at home, and I could see him 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 53 

if I wished. I was ushered into his room, and, after 
respectful salutation, said, ^' I came to see your wife." 

He very pleasantly replied that perhaps he ^vould 
do as well, and, if I pleased, I might deliver my 
message to him. Thus encouraged, I gave a very 
elaborate delineation of the great need of evangel- 
ical laborers in that papal land, and especially as 
it was becoming overrun by foreign E-oman Cathol- 
icism. I was unusually eloquent upon the subject, 
as my listener manifested such a deep interest. 

When I concluded, he arose, w^ent to his desk, 
took out twenty dollars, and handed me, saying, 
^' I presume you do not know that I am a E,oman 
Catholic." 

There were a few " feathers dropped out of my 
cap," at that moment, and the most profound mor- 
tification took possession of me. But his smiling 
face re-assured me, and I very meekly said I did not 
know he was a Catholic. 

He replied, ^' I am so by name only. My 
parents and all my ancestors were Eoman Catho- 
lics, but I have no preferences for that religion. 
My wife is an Episcopalian, and I attend her 
church. He continued, ^' I am convinced you will 
do good to those people, and I have very cheerfully 
contributed my aid." 

We parted the best of friends, and I told him 
that in future I would take a better lookout, lest 
I might find more dangerous soundings than I had 
found with him. 



54 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

My pleasant experience in Natchez will perhaps 
warrant the recital of one little episode, showing 
some of the more trying vicissitudes to which so- 
licitors of money may be subjected. 

I was, while in Natchez, directed to call upon a 
very wealthy lady. She was a member of the 
Presbyterian Church, and although somewhat pe- 
culiar, it was thought that the proper presentation 
of my cause might elicit a liberal donation. I 
called, and was taken into her presence by the serv- 
ant. I introduced myself in my usual way, and 
presented the object of my visit with becoming 
propriety ; bat it seemed she was in a most un- 
gracious mood, for she replied with great vehe- 
mence, " I have nothing to give you, besides I 
know nothing about you. You may be an impos- 
tor, as there are many going about under like pre- 
tences." 

I was stung to the quick by her unjust allusion, 
and hastened to produce my papers, some of which 
were recommendations from members of her own 
church. I said, ^^ I do not care for your money, 
but I do wish to convince you that I am not an 
impostor.'^ But she paid no heed to what I said, 
and with most angry demonstrations ordered her 
servant to open the door, and bade me go out. I 
walked out, of course, but with the deepest humil- 
iation I ever experienced in my life. 

With flushed face, and falling tears, I went on 
my way until I came to another stately mansion to 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 55 

which I was also directed. I hesitated entering, 
as from my recent experience I would gladly have 
avoided exposing myself again to heartless and 
bitter cruelty. But, I reflected, benevolence and 
humanity are not perished from the earth because 
of the conduct of this woman ; her spirit is the 
exception, not the rule. I entered, although with 
a trembling heart ; but upon my first introduction 
I saw I had a diiferent person with whom to deal, 
from the one I had just encountered. The lady 
of the house received me with the utmost kind- 
ness, made me a liberal donation, and when I 
left accompanied me to her gate, and pointed to the 
house I had just left, saying, "There lives my sis- 
ter, go there. I know she will give you something 
for your cause.'' I did not tell her I had already 
been there. I would not wound her feelings by 
the recital of her sister's conduct toward me. 

Some two or three years after, I was traveling 
on business connected with my work, and stopped 
in one of the Northern cities, where I was informed 
of a shocking railroad accident which had just oc- 
curred near by. A lady who had visited the 
scene of the disaster, told me of one of the suf- 
ferers, a lady from Natchez, Miss. By the descrip- 
tion, I was confident it was the person from whom 
I had received such ungracious treatment. The 
poor woman, with broken limbs and lacerated flesh, 
was bewailing her great affliction, and the painful 
deprivation of the comforts of her palatial home in 



56 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Mississippi. A little shanty, from which she 
could not be removed, was all she could have for 
her accommodation. My heart was moved at the 
recital of her distresses, and could I possibly have 
gone to her, would most gladly have tried to min- 
ister to her comfort. I could only put up the 
prayer that God would comfort her, and forgive her 
for so misjudging me. But I soon passed on, and 
never heard of her more. 



TWENTY YEAKS AMOMG THE MEXICANS. 57 



CHAPTER yill. 

Eeturn to Brownsville — Fourteen months away — The convent 
built — Contracted with a responsible man for the erection 
of my building — Rented rooms, and opened my school 
again — School soon full — Commenced Bible and Tract 
distribution — Unbelief of Protestants — Great trials on 
that account — In 1854 enter my new seminary — Dedica- 
tion — Much encouragement by new openings of usefulness. 

BUT I have wandered from my narrative, and I 
will return to my journey toward the land of 
my adoption. From Natchez I went to New Or- 
leans, and took ])assage on a vessel for Brazos. I 
had been absent from Brownsville fourteen months, 
and I began to feel quite solicitous to know how 
matters stood in my destined field of labor. 

When I arrived in Brownsville, I found the 
convent com})leted — a spacious three story build- 
ing, situated in the most conspicuous part of the 
town, and in it were gathered most of the girls of 
the Rio Grande. Nothing daunted, I contracted 
with a responsible man for the erection of my Sem- 
inary building; rented my former rooms, and 
opened my school again. The attendance was 
small at first, but before the close of the second 
month all my former pupils had returned, and sev- 
eral new ones came, also. I possessed one impor- 
tant ad vantagt^, namely, the Mexicans desired their 



08 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

children to learn the English, and as that language 
was but imperfectly taught in the convent, many 
left and came to me on that account. My school 
prospered beyond my most sanguine expectations. 
I renewed my Bible and Tract distribution, and 
found an increasing interest for the Word of Life, 
both on the Texan and Mexican side of the Eio 
Grande. 

Here let me state one painful trial I had to en- 
counter. The bitterest thing with which I had to 
contend was the incredulity which prevailed among 
the American population as to any good being done 
to the Mexican people. Some professed Protestant 
Christians were among the number ; and, indeed, I 
regret to say, my greatest opposers were among 
those who believed they had been recipients of the 
blessings of the Gospel of Christ. 

" What can we do for such a hopeless race ? " was 
the usual suggestion when I attempted to urge the 
importance of evangelical labor in behalf of the 
Mexicans. My reply uniformly was, " Give them 
the Gospel, which is the antidote for all moral 
evils. The extreme degradation in which we find 
them is for the want of the ameliorating influence 
of Bible Christianity." Some went so far as to 
say, "The Mexicans have a religion good enough 
for them, and we had better let them alone." My 
zeal and efforts were regarded as a sort of insanity, 
and I more dreaded meeting a Protestant Christian 
in my rounds of Bible distribution than I did a 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 59 

Romish priest. From the latter I expected perse- 
cution, but from the former I had reason to look 
for sympathy for Christ's sake. Sometimes I al- 
most staggered under the misconstructions put up- 
on missionary labors for the poor despised Mexi- 
cans. 

One Sabbath afternoon I was sitting in my room, 
musing upon the probabilities of any successful re- 
sults of my efforts, and came quite near falling in- 
to the incredulous views of my Protestant friends. 
My reflections were, "Why should I presume to be 
so much wiser than those who have had much more 
acquaintance with Mexican character than I have 
had? Surely, I thought, I am quite too independ- 
ent in my views, and I will suspend my wild oper- 
ations.'' Arriving at this stage of my soliloquies, 
over and above came a voice, although not heard 
by mortal ears, yet equally as impressive : " Go ye 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature/' ^^ Every creature f^^ said I: 'Moes not 
this command embrace the Mexicans? Surely it 
does; and it is Christ who gives this command, 
and I will obey Him although I offend all else." 
I arose immediately, determined to do my duty ; 
and although all the Mexicans should come up on 
the left hand in the great day, as my Protestant 
friends seemed to have doomed them to do, it shall 
be said of me, " She has done what she could " for 
their salvation. I took some books and went out 
again administering the Word of Life, and was ev- 



60 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

ery-where thankfully received. "3Iuchas gracias^^ 
(many thanks) were uniformly expressed as I passed 
into their hands some portion of the Scriptures. I 
felt I was sowing seed which God had commanded 
to be sown " beside all waters/^ and I Avas deter- 
mined to persevere, believing that ^^His word would 
not return void^ but would accomplish that which 
He pleased, and prosper in the thing whereunto 
He sent it." 

I found opportunities of sending hundreds of 
Bibles and hundreds of thousands of pages of the 
Tract Society's publications, in Spanish, into Mex- 
ico; and although the living teacher could not ac- 
company them, yet I had faith to believe tliat the 
same Spirit which indited the Word could enlighten 
the spiritual sense of these people into the knowl- 
edge of those truths whereby their souls might 
be delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan, 
although shut up in the prison-house of papal 
power. 

In the autumn of 1 854 1 entered my new seminary. 
This was an auspicious event. The days of labor 
and scenes of anxious solicitude were all forgotten 
on the morning I assembled my pupils for the first 
time in this Protestant institution. I explained to 
them that the building had been given by Christian 
friends abroad for their benefit, and endeavored to 
impress them with the vast importance of improv- 
ing the privileges it would afford them to the best 
advantage possible. With my Mexican girls, I con- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 61 

secrated this new edifice to God by reading a por- 
tion of Scripture and by prayer. The American 
Bible and Tract Societies of New York continued 
to supply my demands for books; although I often 
wondered at their liberality, considering the very 
unpopular work I had in hand. I used often to 
think, in reference to the indifference which pre- 
vailed so extensively towards Mexico and her peo- 
ple, that the Lord had chosen me for the work be- 
cause I was so very insignificant, and it mattered 
little if I did spend my poor life and services among 
the Mexicans. Sometimes I would take a view of 
the stupendous character of the undertaking — the 
beginning of a work upon a nation comprising eight 
millions of immortal souls! I would wonder why 
the Lord did not select a more efficient agent — some 
minister of the Gospel whose capacity was adequate 
to the great demand. Then would come up before 
me the declaration of the Apostle : " Has not God 
chosen the weak things of this world to confound 
the things which are mighty, that no flesh should 
glory in his presence?^' I had to acknowledge that 
it was God's own economy to select just such a weak 
instrument as myself. His Word, which was my 
principal instrumentality, was just as powerful in 
my weak hands as in those of a learned doctor of 
divinity. When discouragements arose from not 
seeing the immediate results of my labors, a voice 
would seem to say to me, ^' What is that to thee? 
follow thou me.'' I was made willino; to labor all 



62 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

my life, upon the simple command and promise of 
God, even though I might never witness any visi- 
ble results, in the belief that a harvest would be 
gathered, although it might not be until I lay in 
my grave. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS, 63 



CHAPTER IX. 

Need of help — The appeal made — The ease stated — Letter 
published by the American and Foreign Christian Union 
— An effort made to find a suitable colporteur — None 
could be found — Become a colporteur myself — The A. & 
F. C. U. furnishing an assistant in my school — Incidents 
of Bible work — Murder of a German Protestant. 

IN 1855 I felt the need of assistance, and I ven- 
tured to write a letter to Rev. Dr. Kirk, of Bos- 
ton, Mass., asking for a colporteur for the Mexican 
frontier. The letter, quite unexpectedly to me, was 
published in the magazine of the American and For- 
eign Christian Union for August, 1855. I will copy 
the letter, and also the remarks of the editor. It 
was headed — 



" The following letter from Miss Rankin, one of 
the worthy daughters of New England, who, by 
much sacrifice and indomitable perseverance, has 
succeeded in establishing a seminary for Mexican 
young ladies, in Brownsville, on the Texas side of 
the Rio Grande, which separates the United States 
from Mexico, will be read with much interest. 

" It was addressed to one of the Board of Direct- 
ors (a personal friend) with the view to obtain a lay 
missionary for that important, yet neglected field 



64 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

which she has so generously and praiseworthily 
entered, and which, under the Divine blessing, she 
is cultivating, with the prospect of the most encour- 
aging results. It was not designed for publication. 
We trust, howevex', that the writer will pardon us 
for submitting it to our readers, whose sympathies 
and prayers and charities we desire to elicit in be- 
half of the people with whom she has chosen to 
take her abode. 

'' It is proper to add that the Board are now en- 
gaged in efforts to procure a suitable laborer to send 
into that field. But one laborer there is not enough. 
In that great valley and along the Mexican border 
there should be many missionaries employed, and to 
those to whom God has intrusted the means for their 
support they must appeal for the funds necessary to 
sustain them. We have done but little — alas ! much 
too little — for that interesting portion of our own 
nation, and we hope that the facts contained in the 
subjoined letter will lead to liberal contributions for 
its benefit. But to the letter : 

" Brownsvit^le, April, 1855. 

''.Rev. Dr. Kirk : 

'' Dear Sir — Convinced that you have a sympathy 
with whatever appertains to the interest of Christ's 
kingdom, I take the liberty of calling your atten- 
tion to this remote land, where, and on the border 
of which, are thousands of immortal souls under the 
influence of Popery, in its most enslaving and 
debasing forms. You are fully acquainted with 
Koraanism, and, therefore, I need not describe to 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 65 

you the character of this soul-destroying agency of 
the arch-enemy Satan. I presume also, that I need 
not describe the painful emotions awakened in the 
heart by daily witnessing the sad influence of that 
system, so wisely calculated to lead immortal souls 
to endless ruin. 

^' We have in Brownsville some three or four 
thousand Mexicans, who have escaped the dreaded 
influence of a corrupt priesthood of their own 
country, in whose moral condition and wants my 
sympathies are deeply enlisted, and in whose be- 
half I now write. The enterprise in which I was 
engaged when last in your city I have, with the 
blessing of God, carried out successfully. A Pro- 
testant seminary is reared in front of papal Mexico, 
and within its walls are gathered Mexican girls, 
whose improvement encourages me to hope that 
their consciences may become enlightened, and that 
they will embrace the Gospel, which can save their 
souls. I trust it may ultimately be seen that this 
institution is one of the instrumentalities by which 
God intends to disenthrall benighted Mexico from 
the dominion of popery. 

" The object to which I wish more particularly 
to draw your attention is the imj)ortance of having a 
colporteur here to circulate Bibles and other relig- 
ious publications among the Mexicans generally. 
To convince you of the importance of this, I will 
mention some facts in my own experience. Al- 
though I felt my calling to be the instruction of 
children and youth, yet in my eflbrts to benefit them 
my spirit could have no rest without making an 
attempt to do something to enlighten the adults. I 
had but little faith in regard to my success, as the 
Mexicans appeared so completely enveloped in the 
darkness of superstition, and had six Jesuit priests 
G 



GQ TWENTY YEAKS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

to guard their ignorance. But I resolved upon 
making the attempt ; and accordingly sent to the 
American Bible and Tract Societies, and procured 
books in the Spanish language, and commenced the 
distribution in the face of the priests, whom I met 
at almost every corner. In almost every instance 
the books were thankfully received, and in many 
cases I ascertained that they were faithfully read. 
About two months ago I received another box of 
Bibles and Tracts from New York. I called in a 
Mexican man to open the box, and explained to 
him the object of their being sent here, gave him a 
Bible, and told him he might speak to his country- 
men about them. He returned next day and said 
a Mexican lady had been reading his Bible, that 
she believed it to be the truth, and desired him to 
procure one for her ; and also several others had 
made the same request. 

" Since that date there has been a constant call for 
Bibles and Testaments. Scarcely a day has passed 
in which there have not been Mexicans at my door 
earnestly soliciting a copy of the Scriptures. Since 
I have been writing this letter, I have put eight 
copies into the hands of these benighted people. 
May we not hope God's blessing will go along 
with them, and that the enlightening influence of 
the Divine Spirit will lead their deluded readers to 
embrace the salvation they reveal ? I can but 
think that the Spirit of God is moving the hearts of 
these people, and inducing them thus eagerly to 
seek the truth which is able to save their souls. It 
is a source of unspeakable satisfaction to me to wit- 
ness this eagerness for the word of God. No one 
can estimate the joyful emotions that it occasions 
but those who have felt similar painful solicitude 
for immortal souls. While I hate Popery to detes- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 67 

tation, I love the souls it enslaves, and will endure 
any sacrifice or privation to rescue its wretched 
subjects from its destructive power. In this work, 
I believe the Bible to be the most efficient agent. 
Eomanism can not exist in the light of God's word, 
and where it is disseminated, that terrible form of 
evil must soon disappear. 

^' Excuse this digression from the main facts of 
the object which I designed to present. Do you 
not think, sir, that the case, as above stated, would 
justify the sending of a colporteur here ? It appears 
to me that this field presents as urgent motives as 
any other in the world. I fully believe God will 
not open the door of Mexico to Protestant laborers 
until we do what we can for those within our present 
sphere of influence. Even if no one shall come to 
my assistance, I shall toil on in faith and hope, be- 
lieving that though the ^ kingdom of God,' in this 
instance, is but as ^a grain of mustard seed,' yet it 
may eventually ' grow to be a tree,' whose spreading 
branches shall prove a blessing to this long-neglected 
people. And in this belief, I humbly ask the in- 
fluence and prayers of God's people." 

As stated by the Secretary of the American and 
Foreign Christian Union, an effort was made to 
procure a suitable man for the field ; but after some 
time of seeking a right kind of a person, I was in- 
formed that a Christian man, who understood the 
Spanish, could not be found, and that they were un- 
able to do any thing more. Rather than see such 
an important work languish for the want of some 
one to do it, I proposed to the Board of the 
American and Foreign Christian Union, that if 



6S TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

they would furnish me the means for employing an 
assistant teacher in my school, so I could be, in 
part, relieved from school duties, I would become 
their colporteur and Bible reader. The proposal 
was accepted, and January of 1856 I came under 
the auspices of that society. Re-enforced by a com- 
petent teacher, I was greatly strengthened, and the 
school and Bible distribution received a new impulse. 
I visited all the houses of the Mexicans in Browns- 
ville and vicinity, and supplied every family of 
which any member could read, with a Bible. Only 
occasionally would I find one who rejected it. It 
was said by my American friends : '^ The Mexicans 
take your Bibles to turn over to the priests to be 
burned/' I would follow up my investigations 
until I was satisfied that such was not true. Indeed, 
I never ascertained that a single Bible Avas destroy- 
ed. But / did ascertain that the Mexicans con- 
cealed them in the most careful manner, taking 
them out and reading them by night, as they said, 
" when the priests were not about.'' I went one 
day to the house where one of my pupils resided, 
to inquire after her absence, and also to make in- 
quiry after a Bible I had furnished her. A report 
had crept into school that she had exchanged it with 
the nuns for a ^^ saint," and that they (the nuns) 
had burned it. The mother of the girl met me at 
the door, and with streaming eyes told me that her 
daughter had died with yellow fever but a short 
time before. I asked her, if she had her Bible? 



TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 69 

She replied, " [N'o, I put her Bible in her coffin, as 
she loved it so much, and it was buried with her.'^ 
I found another similar case, where a father had put 
the Bible by the side of his son in his coffin. Al- 
though I could not fully coincide with this use of 
God's Word, yet there was something pathetic and 
suggestive in the act of these bereaved Mexican 
parents. 

Orders would be brought me from Monterey and 
from places in the interior of Mexico, for dozens 
of Bibles, with the money to pay for them. I feared 
sometimes the priests were behind the scenes, but 
upon inquiring, "Why do you want the Bible? the 
answer uniformly was, " We have read the Bible, 
and find it to be a good book, and we want to get 
numbers to distribute among the people gratuit- 
ously, to let them see that the priests have deceived 
them, in telling them that the Bible is not a fit 
book for them to read." Through a Protestant 
German, also, great quantities of evangelical read- 
ing were carried far into the interior. This man 
was a traveling portrait painter, and the nature of 
his business gave him access to Mexican families, 
who gladly received the word of God, and paid him 
for it. As this was before the prohibition was re- 
moved, he often encountered violent opposition ; 
yet he felt so deeply the spiritual deprivations of 
Mexico, that he was willing sometimes to run great 
risks, not only of losing his personal effi^cts, but 
also his life. At one time, his hat was taken from 



70 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

him, and he was obliged to travel some ten miles 
or more without any covering for his head; which, 
under the scorching rays o£ a Mexican sun, was no 
small deprivation. He finally lost his life in Mex- 
ico ; whether he was killed on account of the dis- 
semination of the Bible, or for purposes of robbery, 
Ave never ascertained. It was known that he 
stopped for the night at a town named Comer, half 
way between Monterey and Matamoras, but nothing 
more was ever heard of him by his friends. He 
was eminently a man of God, and, we felt assured, 
that like the martyr Stephen, he had ^' fallen asleep 
in Jesus,^^ although a violent death was permitted 
to be his. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 71 



CHAPTER X. 

Troubled waters — A storm of persecution — False impressions 
made by enemies — School nearly broken up — Judgments of 
God pronounced — Submitting the case to God, and wait- 
ing for a manifestation — Sudden removal of the instigator 
of the persecution — A great calm ensued — Work resumed 
and school full again. 

"pUT did I sail on smooth waters during these 
^ years of labor among the Romanists of Browns- 
ville? By no means. The spirit of popery was 
fully alive, and in violent activity to counteract my 
influence. The prosperity of my school was a sub- 
ject of great annoyance. That Catholics should 
choose to send their children to a school which 
they, the priests, had denounced from the pulpit as 
**the by-way to hell," was not to be tolerated. 
The magazine, containing the letter in which I said, 
"I hated Romanism," was procured and taken to 
the convent to be read and discussed before the 
pupils. All the matter contained in it against 
popery, and, of course, it was not at all compli- 
mentary, was rehearsed as mine; and the impression 
was made that I was the author of the book, and 
had gone north the year before to write it. The 
priests went to the parents of my pupils, and said 
to them, '^ Miss Rankin says she hates Catholics, 
why do you permit your children to be taught by 
her ? " Some of the parents, I knew, replied, " We 



72 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

can not believe Miss Rankin liates our chiklren ; 
she treats them kindly, giving them clothing and 
books, and comes to sec them when they are sick/^ 
Such a combined effort seemed to be made against 
me, that I greatly feared my seminary building 
might be destroyed, and several of my friends ex- 
pressed similar anxiety. In one of my letters to 
the secretary of the A. & F. C. U., I made allusion 
to this fear, and he, very injudiciously published it, 
under the heading, ''An attempt made by the E-o- 
manists to destroy the Protestant seminary building 
at Brownsville.'^ With this flaming embellishment 
the most profound sensation was produced among 
the priests, who were conversant with the magazine 
containing the letter, and the statement was heralded 
through town "that Miss Rankin had been guilty 
of the grossest falsehoods." The whole place was 
carried by the impulse. Even the Protestants who 
had said to me, *' we fear for your build ing,'' dare 
not speak in my defense. The Brownsville paper, 
whose editor, temporarily, was a Roman Catholic, 
took up the matter, with all its power and influence. 
The ])riests went from house to house, among my 
patrons, and, under the influence of the wild excite- 
ment, some of my best Mexican friends took their 
children from my school. Indeed, I lost more than 
half my pupils. The very atmosphere seemed filled 
with curses and imprecations against me, yet I felt 
shut up in ''God's pavilion." It is the "fiery 
furnace," and the "lion's den," that teach the chil- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 73 

(Ireii of God wliere their protection and strength 
lie. Although human nature may shrink from the 
encounter of the '^ wrath of man/^ yet it is declared 
that the ^^ wrath of man" shall be overruled to the 
glory of God. I cast myself upon the arm of 
Omnipotence, and abode in peace under tlie shadow 
of the Almighty. I heard, one day, that a Catholic 
woman, an American, by the way, said with much 
emphasis, '• The judgment of God must come upon 
Miss Rankin.'^ I immediately replied, ^'' I will 
also submit the matter to the judgment of God. 
If I am verily guilty of wrong, as you represent, 
let divine judgment fall upon my head, but if your 
party are guilty, let the deserved judgment be 
passed upon it." I felt assured some manifest 
token would be given, and waited on God in hum- 
ble expectation ; although the manifestation might 
be ^'by terrible things in righteousness." The 
*' Father Superior," who had been the leading spirit 
in this persecution, was obliged to leave on business 
connected with a church building they were erecting 
in Brownsville. After getting every thing arranged 
against me according to his wishes, he took passage 
on the steamer Nautilus for New Orleans. The 
Gulf of Mexico is subject to violent tornadoes at 
the season of the year in which he took passage, 
and Avhen the steamer arrived within fifty miles of 
the South West Pass, a sudden gale struck her, and 
she went down with all on board, excepting one 
man, who saved himself on a door which floated off 
7 



74 TWENTY YEARS AIMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

with hira. In about ten days news came to Browns- 
ville of the dreadful disaster, and great distress was 
felt for the loss of many valuable lives. Among 
the number was the Father Superior, and of course, 
his sudden death was a severe blow to his friends. 
The lady who had pronounced God's judgment upon 
me was the first one, after the arrival of the news, 
to catch her prayer book and go to the church to 
pray for the father's soul. All the varieties of 
" masses '^ were brought in requisition for the same 
purpose, but whether they obtained peace for the 
Father Superior's soul, I have never ascertained. 
But peace for my soul was secured, not because a 
fellow mortal had been suddenly called from time 
into eternity in this fearful manner, but because the 
attention of my enemies was diverted from me to 
the solemn circumstances of the untimely death of 
their adored father. The waves of persecution were 
suddenly checked and a great calm ensued. I went 
around among my Mexican friends, and was warmly 
welcomed as their true friend. In less than two 
months my school was full, and I never received 
the like persecution again. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. iO 



CHAPTER XI. 

A revolution for religious freedom — The Priest Party and 
Liberal Party — Immense revenues of the cliurch party — 
Juarez, an able leader of the liberal party — TJie justice of 
the cause gives hope — Letters writted to the A. & F. C. U. 
at that time — The Scriptures going rapidly into Mexico — 
Fifteen hundred copies of the Scriptures, and more than 
two hundred thousand pages of tracts — Great joy in the 
work — Severe affliction and sickness — Touching fidelity 
of a Mexican woman — The bandit Cortinas — Brownsville 
invaded — Four weeks absence in Matamoras — A school 
with New Testaments — Two Mexican women wondering 
why they had ever prayed to saints — Another burning her 
images — They did not keep her son from death — If they 
had known the Bible before they would have believed in 
it — Final triumph of the Liberal party — A great demand 
for Bibles and tracts for Mexico — The American Bible 
and Tract Societies supplying. 

IN 1857, a revolution was commenced for religious 
freedom in Mexico. The parties engaged v^ere 
called ''The Church Party" and ''The Liberal 
Party." The former, wielding the ecclesiastical, 
political, civil, military, and monetary powers of 
the whole country, possessed advantages which left 
to the liberal party but little prospect of ultimate 
success. The justice of the cause of the latter 
seemed their only hope, and it was a subject of 
earnest entreaty to the Author of the human con- 
science, that divine power would interpose in behalf 



76 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

of this natioHj so long under a government directly 
opposed to the best interests of the people, either 
temporal or spiritual. To human view, the hope 
could scarcely be indulged. With Mirimon, one 
of the most skillful generals of Mexico, at their 
head, backed by the clergy, Avho were rich in re- 
sources, the church party was not wanting in worldly 
power. The priests were said to be the great bank- 
ers of Mexico, having entire control of all the 
church revenues, which were immense. Yet, as 
'' the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle 
to the strong," we indulged the hope that, ulti- 
mately, right would prevail in this eventful struggle. 
There were men of decided ability in the liberal 
party. Juarez, with his compatriots, seemed reso- 
lute and determined to throw off the ecclesiastical 
rule, which, like the pall of Egypt, had long over- 
shadowed the land, and establish a government more 
in harmony with the rights of man and the spirit 
of modern civilization. Juarez souo^ht the Sfovern- 
ment of the people, by the people and for the peo- 
ple, and endeavored to establish the principle of the 
direct suffrage of all the citizens in the election of 
the officers of government. The constitution, era- 
bracing the principles of freedom to the Mexican 
people, was adopted February 8, 1857. Although 
the clergy were beaten on the field of battle and 
foiled in congress, they did not despair; but con- 
tinued their resistance with determined zeal. Ju- 
arez, with faith in the people, advanced under all 



TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 77 

discouragements, for the accomplislimeiit of tlie ob- 
ject upon which the life of the nation depended. 
The events transpiring in Mexico greatly encouraged 
me in the belief that religious freedom would yet 
prevail in that fair land, and that I could yet plant 
my foot therewith an open Bible in my hand. Can 
it be possible, I often exclaimed to myself, that I 
can ever be ])ermitted to follow up those rills of 
light which have been secretly flowing into that 
dark land, and personally witness the glorious re- 
sults? I believed, without a doubt, that there 
Avere many hearts which had embraced the blessed 
truths of the Gospel, as revealed in the Word of 
God, and were silently praying for additional help 
from the living teacher. My heart often bounded 
in joyful anticipation, yet I must yet wait in faith 
and prayer and work on. An extract of a letter 
which I wrote to the A. & F. C. U. will give some 
idea of the progress of the work at this time. 

I say, during three months past I have sold fifty 
copies of the Scriptures, several D'Aubigne's His- 
tory of the Reformation, also six thousand pages of 
other evangelical reading in Mexico. I often feel 
the truth of these words, '' Behold, I have set be- 
fore you an open door, and no man can shut it; for 
thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, 
and hast not denied my name.'^ We ought to be 
encouraged while our opportunities of spreading the 
truth in Mexico is becoming enlarged. So much 
of the power of the papacy has been compelled to 



78 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

yield before the light of Divine truth, that we may 
well thank God, and take courage. Every copy of 
the Holy Scriptures conveyed into Mexico is plead- 
ing for religious liberty. Where God's AYord be- 
comes disseminated, the bolts and bars binding the 
human intellect and conscience become dissevered. 
In the desperate struggle, now being made in that 
land, where popery has so long held the supreme 
control, we see the intense desire. manifested for the 
inalienable rights which God has conferred upon 
all his intelligent creatures. Whether God's time 
has fully come for Mexico's redemption is not cer- 
tain. One day we hear of the triumph of the Lib- 
erals; the next day, perhaps, the reverse. Although 
victory may be delayed, yet justice and truth will 
ultimately triumph in the utter overthrow of error 
and priest-craft.'' 

Notwithstanding my brilliant hopes abroad, a 
deep shadow was hovering over my happy home 
and work. In September, of 1858, my beloved 
sister, who had been my associate teacher for nearly 
three years, was suddenly stricken down by yellow 
fever. My grief was most intense, yet not without 
abundant hope for her, whose death was most tri- 
umphant. Yet her loss to me, not only for her 
companionship, but for the great assistance she ren- 
dered me in my work, seemed almost irreparable. 
But God's grace proved sufficient in those days of 
severe affliction, and I was enabled to go on my 



TWENTY YEAKg AMONG THE MEXICANS. 79 

way, under the comforting assurance of my Divine 
Friend, "Lo, Jam with you alway." 

The year of 1859 was marked also by some try- 
ing experience. In August of that year, I was 
attacked by yellow fever, and for some time it 
seemed that I too might have to lay down my 
armor; and I quietly resigned myself to pass away, 
if such was the will of my heavenly Father ; but 
the grief and anxiety manifested by my Mexican 
friends aroused me to renew my grasp of life, and 
to ask God to yet spare me for further service in 
His cause. The kind solicitude of these people 
made me willing to live longer, if only for their 
sakes. One incident, I desire to state, showing a 
phase of character of the Mexican w'omen, which, 
although not new to me, may serve to illustrate to 
those less acquainted with them, that ''some good 
may come out of Nazareth.^' Connected with my 
school was a family of six children, which I had 
sought out in my tours around among the Mexican 
jackals soon after I went to Brownsville; they 
were orphans, and were supported by their grand- 
mother and two aunts. Being very poor, and 
entirely dependent upon their daily labor for the 
support of these children, I assisted in furnishing 
them with clothing and books. Their improvement 
and good conduct amply rewarded me for all I did 
for them. The morning after my attack of fever, 
three or four girls came to school, and being in- 
formed that I was sick, they asked permission to 



80 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

come to my room. It was granted, and they came 
and stood beside my bed, and seemed much dis- 
tressed. They then went home, crying aloud, and 
besought their grandmother (who was an experi- 
enced nurse) " to go and take care of Miss Rankin, 
and not let her die.'' The grandmother came im- 
mediately to my house, related what the children 
had said, and offered to stay and take care of me. 
I very readily accepted her offer, ns I had only two 
young girls in my house, and sickness, at that time, 
w^as prevailing so extensively in town, that no de- 
pendence could be placed upon friends and neigh- 
bors. This Mexican woman remained, and nursed 
me as kindly as a mother could have done, follow- 
ing Avith the utmost precision all the orders of my 
physician, putting aside her roots and herbs, reme- 
dies used by the Mexicans for similar cases. After 
some da3'S of unremitting care, she came to me one 
morning, saying she had received a call to go and 
nurse three strangers who had been stricken with 
the prevailing fever, with the offer of fifteen dol- 
lars a day, as the case was a most urgent one. 
I said, you will go, will you not? and urged her 
to do so, as I knew their need of money. She 
replied, most emphatically, ''I shall not leave you 
until I know you are past all danger, to go and 
take care of others, although they will pay me so 
much. But," added she, " I have too much grati- 
tude in my heart for what you have done for me 
and mine, to take any pay for what I have done 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 81 

for you; I shall not leave you ; ^' nor did she, un- 
til she was perfectly satisfied that I needed her serv- 
ices no longer. 

My experience with the Mexicans has proved 
that they are a kind people, if treated with kind- 
ness. I can truly say I have never found firmer 
and better friends among any nation of people than 
I have among some of the Mexicans. Many, very 
many, I shall never cease to love and respect while 
life remains. 

Scarcely had the pestilence ceased its work of 
devastation when new dangers threatened Browns- 
ville. The notorious Cortinas commenced his 
career of lawlessness in September of that year, 
which he has continued upon that frontier, by 
deeds of mul'der and robbery, with unremitting 
energy, until the present time. Cortinas was 
American born, and had been somewhat of an ex- 
tensive land owner on the Texan side of the Rio 
Grande. It has been said that he was a quiet and 
inoflPensive citizen, until he conceived the idea, 
whether justly or not, that he had been wronged 
by some of the Americans of Brownsville in re- 
gard to his property. He resolved, it seems, to 
take their lives, as he said '*he could get redress in 
no other way.^' The United States troops, by 
order of General Twiggs, being withdrawn from 
the frontier, the way was prepared for Cortinas to 
carry into execution his murderous design. He 
collected some sixty Mexicans, of like character 



82 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

with himself, and he with them, oa the morning of 
the 28th September, entered the town, and an- 
nounced their arrival by the discharge of muskets, 
and taking their position in the center of the town, 
proclaimed " Death to the Americans/' They 
then proceeded to the work they had announced by 
murdering several prominent citizens. Their vic- 
tims were already selected, and they went to their 
houses and called them out, and when they came, 
which they would do, unsuspectingly, they were 
killed in the presence of their families. 

As soon as possible the citizens organized them- 
selves into a body for defense ; but only about one 
hundred and lifty men could be found who were 
regarded as trustworthy. One of the merchants 
happened to have a quantity of arms on hand, so 
they were tolerably well equipped for defense. 
Cortiuas intrenched himself a short distance from 
town, awaiting his opportunity of coming in and 
completing his work of death. He was re-enforced 
in a short time with additional recruits, so that his 
numbers exceeded ours. It was only by the utmost 
vigilance and intrepidity of the citizens that this 
murderous band was repelled. By day and by 
night our men were compelled to stand on constant 
guard, until they became almost worn out. Cor- 
tinas endeavored to cut off all communication, yet 
with much difficulty a courier eluded his ambush, 
and succeeded in getting to the capitol and inform- 
ing the Governor of the State of our perilous con- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. SS 

dition. Troops Avere immediately sent to our re- 
lief, and Cortinas was compelled to withdraw his 
band of desperadoes. 

For two weeks after the assault of Cortinas I re- 
mained in my house and continued my school, as 
I knew his murderous designs were only against 
his enemies. As long as he had his own band of 
men, who were fully instructed upon whom to 
commit violence, I felt no apprehensions that any 
harm would befall me. But when he was re-en- 
forced by desperadoes from all parts, I became con- 
vinced that I should be in danger in case they suc- 
ceeded in getting into the town. I went to Mata- 
moras, and remained three or four weeks. Al- 
though invited to stay with an American family, I 
preferred taking up my abode with a Mexican 
woman, whom I had known considerably by hav- 
ing supplied her with Bibles, from time to time, 
for distribution in Matamoras. This woman had 
come to me upon the first attack of Cortinas, and 
invited me to come to her house, so when I felt 
there was real danger, I gladly accepted her 
proifered hos])itality. She had supplied many of 
her friends with books, and my stay with her gave 
me an opportunity of ascertaining their influence. 
I was much gratified by finding among them an 
evident appreciation of the word of God. Many 
said, " If we had known the Bible before, we 
would have believed it." 

I found also a whole school, of some thirty boys, 



8-1 TWEXTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

supplied with the Xew Testament, which they 
daily read. The teacher, who was an elderly 
Mexican man, had a Bible, which he had procured 
many years before from a British vessel lying in a 
Mexican port. I visited his school, and he ex- 
pressed great gratitude to me for furnishing him, 
so as to enable him to put a copy of the blessed 
book into the hands of all his pupils. He told me 
he had learned from the Bible to cast away his 
idols and to trust in Christ for salvation. The 
Mexican woman told me that this man, in speak- 
ing of me, was accustomed to call me ^' sister/' and 
I was pleased to reciprocate the appellation by 
recognizing in him a brother in Christ. 

Lnage worship, I found, was decreasing under 
the li2;ht of Divine Truth. I heard two Mexican 
women conversing one day in a manner which in- 
dicated that their faith was somewhat shaken in 
the " saints,'' whose pictures hung upon the walls 
of the room. One of the women said to the other, 
" How foolish it is for us to pray to such things," 
pointing to the images, and added, in the most em- 
phatic manner, '^ Why do we do so ?'' The otiier 
woman replied in the same manner, ^' Why do 
we?" One woman, with whom I became ac- 
quainted, told me she had burned all her images, as 
they failed to render her any help in times of 
trouble. She had lost her husband by death, and 
soon after her only son, a man grown, lay at the 
point of death with the fever. She said she had 



twe:nty years among the Mexicans. 85 

several important saints to whicli she had been ac- 
customed to pay her daily devotions, and of course 
the appealed to them for help in this hour of 
anguish. She oifered them all her property, which 
Avas considerable, for the Church, if they would 
interpose and save her beloved son from death. 
But, as she said, ^' They paid no heed to my dis- 
tresses, and let my son die.^' In perfect contempt 
and indignation she broke them to pieces and threw 
them into the fire, except one, which she kept as a 
memorial, being a bridal gift of her late husband. 
[;: Many hearts in Mexico, I felt assured, yearned 
for a religion which should meet the wants of their 
souls. How often, during those years in which I 
witnessed those aspirations for a more exalted 
source of consolation, did I cry out in agony of 
soul, '^ How long, O Lord, how long ere thou wilt 
arise and avenge the blood of thy servants which 
is shed?" How long shall human laws shut out 
the true light, w^iich is intended to enlighten 
every soul of our fallen race, even that of the poor 
despised Mexican! ^^ Shall not the prey be taken 
from the mighty, and the suffering captive be de- 
livered ? " 

Thus saith the Lord, " Even the captives of the 
mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the 
terrible shall be delivered ; for I will contend with 
him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy 
children." 

Near the close of 1859, a light finally dawned 



88 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

upon the long night of darkness in Mexico. On 
the 25th December, Juarez and the Liberal Party- 
entered the Capital. The night before it had been 
abandoned by Mirimon and the remnant of his 
completely demoralized and conquered army. 

Was not this a bright era in Mexican history ? 
" The gates of brass '^ were broken in pieces, " the 
bars of iron were cut in sunder," and eight millions 
of souls threw off the shackels of popery and emerged 
into the liberty wherewith God makes his people 
free. The popular demonstrations — the ringing of 
bells and firing of cannon by the people generally 
evinced their great joy for the precious boon of reli- 
gious liberty. As the noise from Matamoras broke 
upon my ear, I thought I never heard more delight- 
ful sounds, and my heart bounded in joyful antici- 
pation that God's Word could now have free course, 
run, and be glorified. 

Men came over immediately from Matamoras for 
Bibles and Tracts, saying, " We can now distribute 
Protestant books without any hinderance, and we 
will pay you for all you can let us have." I sup- 
plied them to the extent of my ability, and wrote 
on to the Bible and Tract Societies for a greater 
supply. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 87 



CHAPTER XII. 

Wrote to the Bible Society for an Agent — Eev. Mr. Thompson 
receires an appointment — Goes into Mexico — Brings two 
Mexicans to Brownsville, who unite with the Protestant 
Church — First fruits — Work interrupted bv civil war in 
the United States — Desirous of going to Monterey — French 
intervention and civil war prevented — Eev. Mr. Hickey 
appointed agent for the Bible Society — Scatters Bibles over 
tlie country — The French intervention threatens Prote««t- 
antism — Maximilian and Carlotta — Maximilian's fluctua- 
tions — Carlotta '.s insanity — The Pope refuses assistance to 
Maximilian — French troops withdrawn — Maximilian 
finally executed — Beligions freedoni nobly outrides the 
storm. 

AFTER a few months of coii-stant demands for 
Bibles and other evangelical books, I came to 
the conclusion that a special agent was required, 
and that the American Bible Society would be 
justified in putting one into this waiting and needy 
field. Although I felt it to be almost a personal 
favor, I resolved to make the request; and to make 
it sure as possible I secured the man, whom I 
thought would serve acceptably, as already possess- 
ing some acquaintance with the Mexicans and their 
language. Rev. Mr. Thompson, who had been sent 
by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, to labor 
on the Rio Grande, assented to my proposition, and 
I wrote to the secretary for an appointment for him 



88 TWE^'TY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

to labor iii Mexico. After some little delay to 
make the necessary inquiries of the conference 
which sent Mr. T. of his character and fitness, he 
received an appointment and commenced his duties 
in October, 1860. He went into Mexico, and, as I 
expected, was received with favor. He was told by 
the authorities that he might preach, plant schools, 
build churches, disseminate the Bible, and do any 
thing that would benefit the people. 

He went as far as Monterey, and found the Bible 
had preceded him, and had been read by many to 
advantage. At Cadereyta, a place thirty miles from 
Monterey, he met a man, who, as soon as he saw 
him, inquired, ''Are you not a teacher of the Bible/' 
"I have dreamed of just such a looking man as 
you ; I knew there must be somewhere the living 
teacher of tliat book." Mr. Thompson found this 
man well acquainted with the Scriptures. He w'rote 
me, he rarely found a man in a Protestant com- 
munity who was more familiar with the Word of 
God than this Mexican. He comprehended those 
passages which we believe to apply to the Church 
of Rome ; had discarded the whole system of 
popery ; and embraced the religion of the Bible, 
and gave evidence of being truly " born again.'' 
When Mr. Thompson returned to Brownsville in 
March, 1861, this man and Ids eldest son came 
with him, and, after due examination, were received 
into a Protestant Church, These were the first 
Mexicans who durst come out and publicly profess 



TWENTY YEAllS AMOMG THE MEXICANS. 89 

the Protestant faith. The fact being proven that 
a Mexican coidd be otherwise than a Catholic ; 
others followed ; and it was an unspeakable satis- 
faction to give the right hand of Christian fellow- 
ship to people from a nation which had been regard- 
ed as beyond the reach of a pure Christianity. 
Indeed, I rejoiced, believing these first fruits were 
an earnest of the harvest which faith had bid me 
expect, and I doubted not that many more precious 
souls would be gathered from those dark dominions 
of error and superstition into the true fold of Christ. 

Mr. Thompson continued' his labors with hopeful 
success until the civil war in the United States 
prevented our having communication Avith the 
North. The Southern ports were all blockaded, 
and among them the port of Brazos, and we could 
obtain no more Bibles from New York. Mr. 
Thompson came to Brownsville, and after waiting 
some time for a cliange of afiPairs, finally concluded 
to leave the work and return to Texas. 

It seemed Bible work in Mexico had received a 
sudden check ; yet I still trusted in the same Right 
Arm,Avhich had hitherto often interposed in behalf 
of the perishing millions of that unfortunate country. 
I did not trust in vain, for a few months later a 
port -svas opened on the Mexican side of the Bio 
Grande, and we were again in communication with 
tlie Bible Society of Xew York. About the same 
time, Rev. James Hickey, colporteur of the Ameri- 
can Tract Society for Texas, on account of being a 
8 



90 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

"Union man/^ was obliged to flee to Mexico to 
preserve his life, as all persons in the South had to 
do at that time, who were loyal to the Government 
of the United States. Mr. Hickey came to Mata- 
moras, and seeing the good work already in progress 
there, entered into it most heartily. He came ov^er 
to Brownsville and I supplied him with Bibles, and 
he not only circulated the Word, but preached it, 
in all its saving power. Having acquired some 
knowledge of the Spanish language in Western 
Texas, he was able to preach to the people under- 
standingly. Seeing his zeal and adaptation to the 
work, with his consent I wrote on to the Bible 
Society for his appointment as Agent for Mexico. 
In consequence of the irregularity of the mails, Mr. 
H. did not receive an appointment until the sum- 
mer of 1863. He had, however, gone to Monterey 
in anticipation of his acceptance by the Bible 
Society, and found a promising field of labor. He 
collected a congregation of Mexicans, and soon 
baptized several, who gave evidence of conversion. 
At Cadareyta also he found some who had evidently 
embraced the truth in the love of it, by reading the 
Bible alone. A Mexican woman said, she had been 
seeking, by the strictest observance of all the require- 
ments of the Catholic Church, comfort to her soul ; 
but never found it, until she read, in the New 
Testament, of Christ and his salvation ; and this 
was previous to any Protestant teacher going 
there. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 91 

As Mr. Hickey's legitimate duties were, accord- 
ing to the rules of the Bible Society, the distribution 
and sale of the scriptures, he did not remain long in 
Monterey, but put the work there into the hands 
of one of the converts,^ and went out scattering the 
"Word of Life broadcast over the surrounding coun- 
try. The eagerness with which many received the 
Bible from him was truly encouraging. 

I should have gone to Monterey immediately 
after religious liberty was proclaimed, but various 
things hindered me. I could procure no suitable 
person to whom I could commit the seminary at 
Brownsville, and I hesitated to leave until I could. 
The difficulties arising from the French intervention 
in Mexico, also rendered it quite impracticable for me 
to go; as at one time Protestantism seemed to be 
dangerously threatened. After the occupation of 
Mexico by the Liberals, Mirimon and the other 
leaders of the church party, went to France and 
represented the country as having thrown off all re- 
straint, and being in a state of absolute anarchy, 
and that, unless some power intervened, it would go 
to utter ruin. Napoleon III. conceived that this 
representation might serve as a pretext for getting 
possession of Mexico ; and, as a civil war was pre- 
vailing in the United States, he very reasonably 
supposed he should receive no hinderance from the 
American government. 



* Thomas Westrup, a young Englisliman, who had been con- 
verted through Mr. H.'s instrumentality. 



92 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

He decided to improve the opportunity presented 
by establishing an empire in Mexico, and proposed 
to Maximilian to go and take the imperial throne. 
At first Maximilian objected, his refusal being 
founded upon reasons very satisfactory to himself. 
But Carlotta, being a staunch Catholic, conceived 
that the proposal for her husband to go to Mexico 
" was a call from heaven to go and restore the fallen 
church. '^ Maximilian was finally prevailed upon 
to come to Mexico, and, it is fully believed, with 
the purpose and hoj)e of benefiting the country and 
people. He was, evidently, greatly deceived, both 
by Napoleon and the Mexican representatives. The 
true facts of the case can not better be presented 
than by using the precise words of the Abbe Do- 
men ech, French chaplain, who came to Mexico with 
Maximilian. He says: 

" Every thing was a delusion. Unhappily, there 
were a great many interested parties. However, 
be that as it may, we were deceived on every side, 
and urged on, if not by a chivalric sentiment like 
that which led us to take up arms for the Christians 
in Syria and for the independence of the Italians, 
at least by a sentiment of high policy France entered 
upon Mexico, and substituted in favor of the Arch- 
duke Maximilian, a monarchy for a republican re- 
gime." But it proved a failure. 

The falsity of Miramon's representations and the 
absurdity of Carlotta's conceptions were fully proved 
when Maximilian, upon his arrival, found the great 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 93 

majority of the Mexican people opposed to a foreign 
intervention, and also to the re-establish ment of the 
church party. Although there still existed remnants 
of such a party in Mexico, yet it was much in the 
minority. And when Maximilian, instigated by 
the pope, demanded that the immense revenues 
which formerly belonged to the church should be 
restored, it was found that the Liberals had such 
absolute possession as precluded all hope of ever 
obtaining them. A complication of difficulties be- 
set Maximilian, yet he persevered under them all. 
He prohibited the Protestant religion, and for a 
time Mr. Hickey durst not go out upon his work. 
But the people were determined to resist the reign- 
ing power, and the emperor, finding that the great 
majority of the people were in favor of a religious 
freedom, decided to turn over to that side, hoping 
probably, by so doing, to win them into favor with 
the empire which he vainly was trying to establish. 
But he found they were no more willing to become 
subjects of his imperial reign than they were to 
submit to religious despotism. Mirimon, and 
others w4io had been his friends, deserted him and 
left the country. 

The pope issued all the denunciations against him 
of which his infallible personage was capable, but 
Maximilian stood firm, daring to reply to him that 
he "believed toleration to all religions, which were 
not against morality and civilization, were essential 
to the prosperity of any country. '' This was a 



94 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

bright spot in Maximilian's career in Mexico, and I 
shall always remember him with grateful apprecia- 
tion for the firm defense of those principles upon 
which the welfare of Mexico depended. 

But the situation of the Emperor Maximilian was 
far from being pleasant. "With enemies within and 
foes without, he sailed on a sea of troubles. Na- 
poleon, who had been the instrumentality of placing 
him in this situation, suddenly announced his inten- 
tion of withdrawing the French troops from Mexi- 
co, alleging that the empire was so well established 
that foreign assistance was no longer necessary. 
Whether he really indulged this absurd belief is 
extremely doubtful, as the real facts entirely dis"- 
proved the supposition. It is more probable that 
the fear of the United States moved him to recall 
his troops, as our government had so far overcome 
its own difficulties as to be able to look after those 
of its neighbors. Demonstrations were clearly 
manifested that the United States would not permit 
the permanent lodgment of a monarchial govern- 
ment upon this continent, and Napoleon did not 
feel quite willing to fall into its power, already dis- 
tinguished for victorious combat with powerful 
enemies. 

Carlotta, with woman's instinct, seeing the fatal 
sonsequences to the interests of the empire, should 
it cease to be sustained by foreign bayonets, flew to 
France, and entreated Napoleon to forbear his 
threatened purpose. Not prevailing with him, she 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 95 

went to the Vatican, and besought the holy father 
to exercise his power in behalf of the falling em- 
pire. The pope, still sore, no doubt, from Maxi- 
milian's arrogance in opposing his pontifical orders 
in relation to matters with regard to which Mexico 
was of importance to him, turned a deaf ear to her 
appeals. 

This denial actually wrought the destruction of 
the lovely Carlotta's reason. Her brain received a 
fatal shock, and she was carried from the Vatican 
a hopeless mauiac. As might be expected, when the 
French troops left Mexico, Maximilian was entirely 
without support. And why did he not leave with the 
retiring army? It will always be a matter of deep 
regret that he did not leave Mexico at that time; for 
although his fair fame might have been somewhat 
tarnished by his unsuccessful attempt to establish 
an imperial throne, yet, by so doing, he would have 
been spared to his friends and to his country yet 
longer. 

He remained,, however, and suffered himself to 
become again the dupe of Mirimon and others, who, 
at this juncture, turned up again in Mexico. They 
represented that immense wealth w^as yet in pos- 
session of the church party, and Maximilian was 
led to believe that there was sufficient power for 
sustaining him at the head of the Empire. In ac- 
cepting the support of the church party, he abjured 
the principles which he had so boldly declared in 
favor of religious freedom. This was a dark blot 



96 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

upon his integrity and honor. Probably his ex- 
tremity forced him to fall into the plan. In liis 
first attempt for carrying it into execution, he fell 
into a fatal trap, and, with Mirimon and Mejia, ex- 
piated, by an ignominious death, the wicked design 
of again enslaving the millions of Mexico under 
papal dominion. 

No one can fail to lament the sacrifice of the life 
of this good-hearted, yet evidently weak-headed, 
man, nor deplore the mental ruin of ^' poor Car- 
lotta," who still lives — a monument of disappointed 
ambition. 

This great sacrifice can be clearly traced to the 
unwise design of Xapoleon, who laid the treacher- 
ous snare which lured two innocent victims on to 
ruin. But as he has passed to a higher tribunal, 
human judgment should leave him there. Relig- 
ious freedom, however, nobly outrode the storm, 
overcoming the plots and counterplots of the most 
potent enemies, and Mexico presented the same 
hopeful aspect for missionary work as before. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 97 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Compelled to leave my seminary — A Presbyterian minister 
demands the keys — Reasons given — Not in sympathy 
with the Southern Confederacy — Went to Matamoras — 
Happy in being on Mexican soil — Within six months 
had to give up my house — Obliged to leave — Eesolved 
to go to the United States — Delayed at Bagdad — No 
room at the ^hotel — Quartered on a schooner — One of 
our company murdered by the rebels — Leaving Bagdad 
— Under the Stars and Stripes — Entreated to remain in 
New Orleans. 

WHILE these events were taking place in Mex- 
ico I was having some varied, yet rich expe- 
rience on the frontier. In September of 1862 I 
was obliged to leave my seminary and work in 
Brownsville, by the most peremptory orders. The 
orders were sent me in writing by a Presbyterian 
minister, who stated that he was authorized to com- 
mand me to vacate the building, and deliver up 
the keys of the same to him. 

I replied that I wished to retain the seminary for 
the purposes for which I founded it — namely, the 
education of Mexican children — and put the ques- 
tion, *^ Why do you require me to give it up ? " 
He replied, in a written statement, "You are not 
in sympathy with the Southern Confederacy, and 
no teachers but such as are can be permitted to oc- 
cupy that institution;" also, "You are in comniu- 
9 



98 ■ TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

iiicatlon with a country called the United States. '^ 
I again remonstrated, and continued to occupy the 
building which I had procured at such an immense 
amount of labor and sacrifice until another written 
order* came, announcing it to be the ^^ third and 
last^^ — evidently meaning that violence would have 
to be used if I did not voluntarily vacate the prem- 
ises. 

Rather than be put out by military force, which 
I fully believed this man would call into requisi- 
tion, I wrote a reply that, in obedience to his com- 
mand, I would commit the building and all its re- 
sponsibilities into his hands, and that I would leave 
him in the hands of Him who has said, "Judgment 
and justice are the habitation of my throne.^' 

Through the aid of friends I succeeded in getting 
over to Matamoras, with my books, furniture, etc., 
although the rebel minister went to. the Confederate 
receiver and urged him to confiscate all my mova- 
ble possessions. The receiver reported this fact to 
me himself; and although a Roman Catholic, he 
said he told my Protestant friend it was bad enough 
for man to be afflicted with the horrors of war, and 
tliat he could not have the heart to extort from a 
woman her necessary articles of furniture. 

I succeeded in procuring a house, and opened a 
school in Matamoras, and was supremely happy in 
engaging in actual labor for Mexicans upon Mexi- 



*■ The documents are still preserved, 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 99 

can soil. This was the time of the difficulties pre- 
vailing in Mexico, and I could not feel it pnident 
to go farther into the country. I remained in Mat- 
amoras until March of 1863, when I could not pro- 
cure a house on any terms. The great quantities 
of goods which passed through Bagdad, the new 
port that was opened for the benefit of the Southern 
Confederacy, were stored in Matamoras, and every 
available building was required for that purpose. 
It was not unfrequently the case that a hundred 
vessels were lying off the bar ; not only were they 
discharging goods, but were receiving large quan- 
tities of cotton for foreign ports. On account of 
the prevailing troubles of both countries, I felt it 
best to discontinue any further work for Mexico 
until matters became more settled. I concluded to 
go to New Orleans, which was then occupied by 
the Federals, and proceed to the North. A United 
States transport was sent from New Orleans to con- 
vey refugees, who had fled from the South at the 
peril of their lives, and Avere waiting in Matamoras 
for an opportunity to get to the United States. I 
took passage, and, with my two nieces, and two 
other families in company, went to Bagdad, where 
the vessel was lying. A very difficult bar ob- 
structed the entrance ; and just before we arrived 
a ^' norther " sprang up, which rendered the bar so 
rough that it was utterly impossible for us to cross; 
consequently we were compelled to seek for quar- 
ters in Bagdad until the gale ceased. 



100 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

It was night when we arrived, and we went im- 
mediately to the place called a hotel. We were in- 
formed by the proprietors that no accommodations 
could be afforded us, and we walked out and stood 
outside, utterly at a loss what to do. We under- 
stood the reason why we were not permitted to re- 
main in the hotel, as it was well known that Bag- 
dad had been reared especially for the rebels, and 
was noted for its deep-seated hatred of " Yankees/' 
as all Union people were called in those days. 

While we were standing outside, exposed to the 
bleak winds of a Mexican *^ norther/' a young man 
came along, and kindly invited us to go on board a 
small schooner which was lying inside of the bar. 
The young man, who was a Kova Scotian, said 
he heard the refusal of the hotel -keepers, and he 
thought, ^^What if my mother and sisters were in 
the like situation ! '' and the thought impelled him 
to oifer us such accommodations as he was able. 

We very thankfully accepted his invitation, and 
accompanied him to the schooner; yet we found 
very limited accommodations for our party, which 
consisted of eight persons. We could scarcely 
stand upright, and as for our lodgings, barrels, 
boxes, and the like, constituted our beds. We 
passed the night with considerable amusement, in 
our crude attempts to obtain rest. The morning 
came, and in our attempts to obtain breakfast we 
found the rebels determined not to let the 
*' Yankees " have any thing to eat. By strategy, 



TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 101 

however, our kind friends of the schooner suc- 
ceeded in obtaining something which answered for 
a breakfast. 

The bar continued rough, and we were com- 
pelled to remain, and we made several futile 
attempts during the day to secure more commo- 
dious quarters ; but were finally comjielled to re- 
main on the little schooner another night. The 
day following, the owner of a larger schooner hear- 
ing of our situation, oifered to let us come on 
board his vessel provided we w^ould occupy the 
hold. He was a Northern man, but was making 
money off the Confederates, and he did not like to 
jeopardize his lucrative business by having it 
known that he was manifesting any favor to Union 
people. We accepted his invitation, and took up 
our quarters in our novel apartment, which the 
owner had somewhat prepared, by having it swept 
hut not ^^ garnished J' 

Our furniture consisted of a small wood-pile, a 
bale of cotton, and some ropes and sails. The 
latter served for our lodgings, which proved to be 
not the most downy beds that ever were; yet we 
felt thankful for even these accommodations. AVe 
remained nine days in this condition; the owner 
of the vessel furnishing us with food, and treating 
us as well as circumstances would permit. In- 
deed, I shall always retain a grateful remembrance 
of this man's kindness and hospitality to us. 

Our stay was prolonged by a highly outrageous 



102 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

act of the rebels upon some of our party who were 
waiting to cross over to the transport. A band 
of rebels, led by a prominent confederate officer, 
came over upon the Mexican side of Rio Gl*ande 
during the nighty and took two prominent Union 
men, bound them, and carried them across the 
river into the camp of the rebels. These two men 
were refugees from Texas — one was Judge Davis, 
late Governor of Texas, and the other. Captain 
Montgomery, who had been obliged to flee, leaving 
a wife and several children behind in Texas. 
These men were immediately started for Browns- 
ville, and when about half way Captain Mont- 
gomery was hung, and his head cut off and carried 
to Brownsville as a trophy. Judge Davis was 
left at a camp, near town, probably for farther sac- 
rifice. In the meantime, intelligence was conveyed 
to Matamoras of the outrage committed U2:)on Mex- 
ican soil, and the outrage was of a more aggra- 
vating character from the fact that Judge Davis 
had been taken from the house of the chief officer 
of the Mexican government where he had put him- 
self for protection. The Governor, exceedingly in- 
censed, demanded the restoration of the men, or 
he would immediately stop all transportation of 
goods across the Rio Grande. This threat was 
heeded, and Judge Davis was restored, but Captain 
Montgomery had already fallen a victim to Confed- 
erate cruelty, and his fiimily was left in desolation 
and sorrow. Oh ! those were bloody times in 



TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICAN'S. 103 

Texas, and can the stains of those tragic scenes 
ever be effaced? Even though the lapse of years 
may throw them far in the distance, yet the deeds 
which were committed during that awful reign of 
terror, memory can never cease to recall, however 
painful it may be. 

But, I will return to our transport waiting out- 
side the bar. When this daring outrage was com- 
mitted, an officer who was at Bagdad, ventured, at 
tlie risk of his life, to cross over to the vessel, and 
give information to the captain, who put out im- 
mediately for Galveston to procure a gunboat, for 
resisting any further assault which might be made 
by the rebels. 

In four days after, the vessel returned, and the 
bar became sufficiently smooth for crossing, so we 
passed out of our dismal quarters, and went on to 
the Transport, truly happy to find ourselves again 
under the dear old '^ Stars and Stripes '^ of our own 
beloved country. Our vessel, originally used for 
the trans2)ortation of cattle, did not prove to be 
very comfortable. Our party, consisting of about 
one hundred refugees, found accommodations to be 
somewhat limited. But, during those days of 
national peril, all who truly loved our country, and 
sympathized in its dangers, were as one family — 
our interests so blending that each one felt like 
hel])ing and comforting the other. 

We arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi the 
evening of the fifth day, and from one of the gun- 



101 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

boats lying there came a gentleman on to our ves- 
sel, who occupied an important position in the 
army, and who urged me to stop in New Orleans, 
saying that Union ladies were greatly needed there 
at that time. 



TWENTY YEARS AMOMG THE MEXICANS. 105 



CHAPTER XIV. 

New work presented — Visiting the hospitals — Delicacies solic- 
ited in New Orleans — Personal distribution of them — 
Scenes of suffering — Principal of school for Freedmen — 
An old preacher learning the alphabet — Manifestations of 
Divine grace — Desirous of returning to my Mexican work. 

I HAD fully intended going to the North, and 
getting away from anxious care for a season, 
but upon further consideration I decided to remain 
in New Orleans. A residence was immediately 
furnished me, and I soon became very comfortably 
domiciled in the Crescent City. Various ways of 
usefulness opened before me, but I felt the most 
important work to be, if possible, to aid our coun- 
try's cause. Indeed, it seemed to be the work at 
that time, and I felt that every other consideration 
should be subordinate. 

The siege of Port Hudson w'as soon in progress, 
and hundreds of our brave men were brought to 
New Orleans wounded in the most shocking man- 
ner. The 27th May, 1863, was marked by one of 
those futile attempts to take the fort — the only re- 
sult of which was the massacre of great numbers 
of soldiers. Some three hundred of those who 
could be moved were brought down on a steamer 
the day after the battle. The scene of their re- 
moval from the boat to the St. James Hospital was 



106 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

related to me by an eye-witness. I was moved at 
the recitalj and immediately resolved that I would 
do something for the comfort of these mutilated 
men. I did not know as I should be permitted to 
visit the hospital, as no ladies could obtain passes 
on account of the insolence of rebel ladies, who 
had, some time previous, been visitors of the Con- 
federate sick who were prisoners in the hospital. I 
was aware of this fact, yet I thought I would 
make the effort, for the sake of those suffering sol- 
diers. As belonging to " Banks' Expedition '^ I 
knew they had left their ^ew England homes only 
the autumn before, and I thought of those left be- 
hind — wives, mothers, and sisters — of the intense 
suffering and anxiety which would be theirs did 
they but know of the dreadful condition of their 
loved ones. I resolved to try and get access, and 
as soon as the j^roper time arrived, I hastened to 
the hospital and inquired of the sentinel at the 
door if I could see the surgeon in charge. He re- 
plied he had been very busy, all the afternoon, 
dressing wounds, but he would send and ascertain. 
A messenger was dispatched, and very soon the 
surgeon made his appearance. 

I very promptly explained the object of my visit, 
and, looking at me very sharply, he asked me, '^Are 
you not a northern lady.'' I replied, " I am." 
Then he put the question, very emphatically, ^^Are 
you for the Union?" I told him, I believed I 
was, and that the rebels thought so too, as I had 



TWEKTY YEARS AM02sG THE MEXICANS. 107 

but recently been expelled from their dominions. 
After my nationality and politics were settled, which, 
at that time, were of the utmost importance, the 
surgeon asked me, ''In what loay would you pro- 
pose relief for our wounded and sick soldiers ?^^ I 
gave him one evidence of my " Yankee ^^ character 
in answering his question by asking another. I 
inquired, "Are the delicacies provided necessary for 
the conifort of the men?^^ (This was before the 
ample provision was made by the Christian Com- 
mission.) He replied, " No, but what can you do 
in this way?'^ I said, "I will go out and solicit 
donations for that purpose from the citizens of New 
Orleans.'^ The surgeon said, "It might be a good 
way of testing the loyalty of the present residents, 
as, but a short time previous, all who would not 
take the oath of allegiance to the United States 
government had been requested to leave the city — 
those remaining were professedly Union people.'^ 

The plan was decided upon, and the surgeon re- 
quested me to come to the hospital the next morn- 
ing, and we would devise the proper method of car- 
rying it into execution. Accordingly, at 10 o'clock 
next day, I and my two nieces were at the hospital 
to receive instructions and proper authority for 
making our Union friends of New Orleans a call. 
All necessary arrangements being made, we started 
out upon our work of mercy, and found many who 
very readily contributed money, or other things 
equally valuable. As I expected, some would have 



108 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

gladly been excused from giving any thing to 
*^ Yankee soldiers/' but as their refusal might tes- 
tify that their professed allegiance to the Union 
government was not so much for the love they had 
for it, as for the preservation of their own private 
interests, they gave something from policy, probably. 

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon we returned to the 
hospital with our supplies. The steward very 
kindly proposed to relieve us from the labor of 
their distribution, as he and the nurses could ad- 
minister them. This offer did not strike me favor- 
ably. As several persons had suggested that pos- 
sibly the needy men might not receive the gifts, I 
had pledged my w^ord that I would see that every 
thing given should find its desired end. I remon- 
strated against the proposal of the steward ; but he 
seemed to think he had some authority in the mat- 
ter, and to test it, I sent for the surgeon in charge. 
He came and said, " By all means, ladies, go through 
the wards and distribute the things yourselves. 
Those suffering men will be cheered by seeing ladies 
who feel so much interest in their welfare — your 
l^ersonal visit will be as welcome as your gifts.'' 

With the surgeon in company we started upon 
our rounds ; but oh ! how shall I describe the pain- 
ful scenes, which, after the lapse of years, are still 
vivid ! Some we found beyond the hope of re- 
covery — one poor fellow, whose lungs had been pen- 
etrated by a ball, was just gasping for breath, but 
was able to say, '^How much comfort it is to see 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 109 

kind ladies who feel for us iu our suffering! " An- 
other, whose throat was pierced by a bullet, could 
not utter a word, but a look of thankful recognition 
was even more expressive. It seemed to me that 
every form of suffering humanity was presented, 
and once my feelings gave way, and I exclaimed, in 
agony of spirit, " I can not longer endure the sight 
of so much suffering ! ^' One of my nieces exclaimed, 
" Do, aunt, go forward for the sake of the relief you 
may be able to afford. ^^ I rallied, and continued to 
endure the painful ordeal until every ward was vis- 
ited. AYe administered restoratives to those who 
could receive them. Indeed, there was not one who 
could not receive a small quantity of the choice cor- 
dials which we happily possessed. When I told 
these men, who had but recently left their JS'ew Eng- 
land homes, that I too was a New Englander, their 
joy was unbounded ; and one young soldier, who 
was from my native town, nearly bounded from 
his pillow, when informed of the fact. 

For three hours we wended our way through these 
scenes of sorrow and of joy — for there was some 
pleasure mingled with the pain — and at sunset we 
returned to our home. Did I sleep that night? 
No, for my mind was too much occupied with the 
scenes I had witnessed; yet the sorrowful retrospect 
was mitigated by the pleasure of believing that some 
comfort had been imparted to those suffering sol- 
diers. From day to day we continued ; alternating, 
obtaining supplies one day and administering them 



110 TWENTY YEAES A]StOKG THE MEXICANS. 

the next, which plan lessened the oppressiveness of 
the labor. 

Previous to the surrender of Vicksburg, which 
opened Port Hudson, the vain attempts to take tlie 
latter filled every hospital in New Orleans to the 
utmost extent, and every hotel, excepting the St. 
Charles, was used for hospital purposes. At one 
time, sufficient material for bandages was not pos- 
sessed, and the ladies were appealed to for aid. 
During the hot sun of June days, I traversed the 
streets of New Orleans, calling at the houses of la- 
dies of wealth, asking them for material to dress 
the wounds of our soldiers. I was often repulsed 
by ladies who would say, ^' The Yankees have no 
business to come here and get wounded, and I shall 
give nothing for them.^^ But I would say, ^^ They 
are here among you and are suffering, and will not 
mercy prompt you to give a piece of old linen, or 
even cotton, which I know you can easily spare ? ^' 
By continued importunity I generally succeeded in 
obtaining something, although reluctantly given. 

I continued visiting the hospitals until there was 
no longer any absolute necessity ; and in the autumn 
of 1863, I gave my assistance to the establishment 
of the first schools for the freed men. I accepted 
the appointment as principal of a school in a Pres- 
byterian church of the Third District. In this 
work I had some new experience. Although I had 
taught among a people quite as ignorant as the 
negro race, yet I had never found among any peo- 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. Ill 

pie such an ardent desire for instruction as among 
this race, who had been born and raised in a civi- 
lized and Christian land, yet had no knowledge of 
the first rudiments of education. Some highly in- 
teresting cases came under my observation. 

One man who presented himself as a pupil, said, 
*■' I am sixty years old and have been a preacher of 
the Gospel forty years,^^ and yet did not know one 
letter of the alphabet. He related to me his relig- 
ious experience, which had constituted the subject of 
his preaching. He says, '^ When I thought myself 
sinking down into eternal woe, due my sins, there 
appeared One before my eyes who showed me his 
pierced hands and side, and said, 'All this I suffered 
that you might be saved from the punishment of 
your sins.' Oil, I fell down at the feet of this lov- 
ing Savior, and he raised me up, saying, ' Thy sins 
are forgiven thee.' I went to others and told them 
of this loving Jesus, and I can not tell you of the 
great numbers who have been brought to feel them- 
selves sinners, and made to rejoice in the same for- 
giving love. I still tell the wonderful story, and 
though it was forty years ago I first learned the 
Savior's love, it is still new." 

Even so, my sable brother, this story of the " Sav- 
ior's love" will continue to be new v;\\en ''forty" 
millions of years have rolled their rounds, and this 
story of the Gospel of the Son of God is destined to 
bring in all God's chosen ones, and will never lose 
its power on earth, " till all the ransomed church of 



112 TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

God be saved to sin no more/^ How was I struck 
with the measure of this poor ignorant colored man's 
labors for Christ and for souls! I doubt not but in 
the great day he will be able to present more jewels 
for his master's crown than thousands of others of 
Christ's people, endowed with all the advantages of 
human learning. 

I found among many of those people some won- 
derful manifestations of divine grace in their behalf, 
and I felt convinced that their deprivations had been 
compensated by a greater measure of the Holy 
Spirit's power and influence. I should have liked 
to continue in this work, but I was already com- 
mitted to one of equal importance, and waited for 
the way to open for my return to my divinely ap- 
pointed field of labor. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 113 



CHAPTER XV. 

Brownsville taken by the United States troops — The garrison 
burned — Attempt to burn the town — Eeturn to Browns- 
ville—Find the Seminary building greatly injured — 
Eepaired it, and opened my school — Keligious influence 
of the army — Troops recalled — Obliged to leave — Beturn 
to New Orleans — Maximilian decides to sustain religious 
liberty in Mexico — Start for Monterey — Another visit to 
Bagdad — Close of the war — What the people of Bagdad 
thought — Assassination of President Lincoln — Disrespect- 
ful demonstrations forbidden by the Confederate General 
of Brownsville — Arrived safely in Monterey. 

IN November of 63, General Banks took Browns- 
ville, and my seminary building was restored to 
me again. Early in ^64 I crossed the Gulf and 
took possession, but found it considerably damaged 
by the explosion of gun-powder. The Confederates 
were taken by surprise, having no suspicion that 
the Federals were approaching, until they landed 
at Brazos. Of course but a short time was given 
them for evacuation, in the accustomed way. Every 
thing must be destroyed, and the commanding 
general immediately ordered the garrison to be set 
on fire, and to facilitate the destruction of the town, 
gun-powder was placed in such a manner as to make 
quick work of it. By a sudden change of wind 
only a few buildings of the town were burned, but 
10 



114 TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

those which remained were more or less damaged 
by the explosion of the powder. The walls of the 
seminary, being of brick, were cracked in several 
places, and all the windows were broken. 

I expended two hundred dollars of my own pri- 
vate means for repairs, and opened my school, and 
soon had sixty pupils. The occupation of Browns- 
ville by the Federal army greatly improved the 
character of the town. That the presence of an 
army should cause an increase of moral and relig- 
ious influences is quite an uncommon circumstance. 
Several of the officers were Christian men, and, with 
the chaplains and agents of the Christian Commis- 
sion, quite a religious community was constituted. 
During the spring of '64, a hopeful revival of relig- 
ion prevailed, and many conversions took place 
among the soldiers. The churches were made vocal 
every night of the week with songs of praise, and 
Brownsville, for that time at least, bore the impress 
of a God- worshiping people. Is it not true, that 
there was a very decided religious aspect through- 
out the whole army ? Many of our soldiers went 
into the army thoughtless and unconcerned about 
their souls, but came out decided Christians. 

I was much interested in the conversion of a young 
Irishman at Brownsville, who was a Roman Catho- 
lic before joining the army. He thanked his God 
that he enlisted as a soldier, as through the Bible 
and other means of grace he had learned about a 
religion which did " his soul good." It was pleas- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 115 

ant living in Brownsville in those days, and it was 
with the most painful emotions that we were ap- 
prized of the necessity of evacuating and leaving 
the town again in the hands of the Confederates, 
The defeat of General Banks up the Red River, 
made it necessary that the troops occupying Browns- 
ville should be withdrawn for service in the locality 
of the disaster. This order to us in Brownsville 
was a sad and most unexpected event, and I am 
fully aware no event of the war occasioned more 
pain to me personally than to be obliged again to 
surrender my work and turn over my repaired 
house into the hands of those whom I knew would 
treat it with sacrilegious abuse. I even appealed 
to some of the Confederates to know if I could not 
be permitted to remain and continue my school. I 
was told, I should probably receive abuse and in- 
sult, so I submitted to the imperative necessity of 
again breaking up my establishment.* 

General Herron, who was in command, rendered 
me all necessary assistance, and furnished me, with 



* After the war closed the seminary in Brownsville was oc- 
cupied by Mrs. Jeremiah Porter, whose husband was agent of 
the Christian Commission. Mrs. Porter carried on the school 
very successfully for several years. When Eev. Mr. Porter was 
sent to Fort Sill, as Chaplain of the United States Army, the 
seminary was committed to the care of the Presbytery of West- 
ern Texas, and it is hoped that the building will still continue 
to subserve the object for which it was founded. 



116 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Other ladies, means of transportation to New Orleans. 
Arriving there, I soon engaged in teaching in the 
colored schools again, and thanked God that in all 
the varied vicissitudes of war opportunities of use- 
fulness were afforded rae. 

I remained in New Orleans until March of 1865,* 
at which time I became convinced that the difficul- 
ties which had prevailed in Mexico had become so 
much lessened as to justify me in taking up the line 
of march towards that long-desired post of useful- 
ness. Accordingly, I took passage on a United 
States transport, and went to Brazos, as that port 
was still retained by the Federals. Remaining there 
one night I was conveyed in a Government ambu- 
lance to the opposite landing of Bagdad. A detail 
of soldiers accompanied us, as there was no safety, 
on account of the Confederates lying about in am- 
bush. Several balls whistled by us. I crossed the 
Rio Grande, and found Bagdad greatly improved 
since the time which we could find no other accom- 
modations there but the hold of a schooner. 
Business houses of all kinds had been erected, and 
its general appearance indicated it to be a first-class 
commercial town. Vast quantities of goods from 
all parts of the world had been passed through 
Bagdad, by which the whole South had been sup- 
plied. 



* This was the time that Maximilian determined upon relig- 
ious liberty in Mexico. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 117 

I went to the St. Charles Hotel, and found no 
difficulty in obtaining entertainment, until I could 
obtain conveyance to Matamoras. While I was 
there, news came of the surrender of General Lee's 
army, and I had the opportunity of witnessing the 
effects of that painful intelligence upon those who 
had staked their all upon the ultimate triumph of 
the Southern Confederacy. 

Expressions like these were made : 

" It can not be possible that our righteous cause 
can fail !" ^' Justice and right must and will pre- 
vail/' 

Another said : 

" It is an act of strategy on the part of General 
Lee. He is feigning to evacuate Richmond, and 
going to withdraw his army to cut off Sherman and 
the whole host of Yankees." 

" Do not fear ! we shall see greater fighting than 
we have seen yet, and the South will surely come 
off victorious." This man seemed to be quite an 
oracle among them, and hope sprang up in all minds, 
that the news just received was all a hoax. 

The great calamity it would prove to Bagdad if 
the war should end was also discussed. One man 
expressed his deep regret by saying: 

" If this news be true, no more cotton and goods 
will be shipped through Bagdad." 

Many like him would have been glad to have 
war and bloodshed continued indefinitely, if they 
could continue to make money. 



118 TWENTY YEAKS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

As soon as convenient, I went on to Matamoras 
and looked for conveyance to Monterey, tlie place 
of my destination. While here, news arrived of 
the assassination of President Lincoln, and truly 
sad was the intelligence to many hearts. I was 
much gratified at the demonstrations made by the 
Confederate officer on the other side of the river. 
The commanding general forbade any expressions 
of disrespect towards the murdered president, under 
penalty of severe punishment. Some fellows, how- 
ever, of the baser sort, did come over to Matamoras 
and hold a mock funeral, which act received the 
condemnation of Mexicans and Americans gener- 
ally. 

After waiting several days, a stage was an- 
nounced to start for Momterey, if possible to get 
through the obstacles which obstructed the way. 
Xo less than three distinct governments were in 
existence. Matamoras was in possession of the 
Imperialists, Monterey of the Juarists, and about 
midway between the two Cortinas had established 
his government. I felt some concern about start- 
ing under such circumstances, but finally concluded 
to do so, and the morning of starting I said to a 
friend, " What do you think of my attempt to go 
to Monterey ? '^ He replied, " If it was any one 
but yourself, I should say it was extremely hazard- 
ous ; but you seem proof against disaster or acci- 
dent.'^ I started, and was favored in having an 
American gentleman for a fellow passenger, who 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 119 

very kindly rendered me all necessary assistance. 
Our driver, who was a Mexican, proved an expert 
in getting through the lines of the different gov- 
ernments, and after six days travel we arrived 
safely in Monterey. I was truly haj^py, after so 
many delays, to fiud myself in my long-desired 
field of labor. 



120 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Seeking Protestant head-quarters — No missionary Society had 
entered Mexico — The agent of the American Bible Society 
scattering the Bible — Fruits apparent — Necessity of a per- 
manent Protestant Mission — jNIonterey regarded the most 
important point — Suitable buildings necessary — Eesolveto 
come to the United States for money — Trip from Monte- 
rey to Matamoras — Taken prisoner by Cortinas — Favor 
found with robbers — Fate of other travelers — "Blue 
Coats " pass unhurt. 

MR. HICKEY had been scattering the Bible broad 
cast over Northern Mexico for two years, and 
precious fruit was apparent. There were already 
many converts, and we had reason for believing 
that much fruit was waiting to be gathered from 
the seed already sown. My impressions were, that 
the promising indications justified the permanent 
establishment of a Protestant mission at some 
point in Northern Mexico. 

Monterey, on account of its commercial interests, 
was the most important city of this portion of the 
country, containing a population of about forty 
thousand inhabitants. It was the center of strong 
Roman Catholic influences, and whether to plant a 
mission where Satan's seat seemed so strongly en- 
trenched, was a vital question. Some persons who 
were acquainted with the i)rejudices existing there, 
advised me to seek a place less under Romish 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 121 

power. But after mature deliberation, I came to 
the conclusion that as we must have error to com- 
pete with in any locality to which we might go, it 
was as well to attack the strongholds, and "■ grap- 
ple with the prince of darkness on his throne," by 
establishing the truth in the very heart of his do- 
minions. 

The weapons we designed to employ were of a 
caliber which justified our advance upon Satan's 
batteries, although glistening with his choicest ar- 
tillery. Availing myself of all the information 
and counsel possible, after three months investiga- 
tion, I decided to fix the head- quarters of Protest- 
antism at Monterey. In order to secure all neces- 
sary advantages, I found we must have a building, 
over which we could exercise undisputed control. 
During the three months I had been in Monterey, 
I had rented three houses, and had to move as 
many times, for as soon as the priests found I was 
teaching the Bible, they always found means to 
dispossess me of the house. Protestant worship 
was kept up by the converts in their own houses ; 
yet, I could see how greatly it would facilitate the 
cause, and give it repute, to have a suitable place 
for Divine worship. We needed, also, accommoda- 
tions for schools, as I had found these auxiliaries 
indispensable to the prosperity of a Protestant mis- 
sion. I resolved to come to the United States, 
which I was happy to know had ended its long 
night of war, and see if I could obtain aid for the 
11 



122 TWENTY YEAES AilOXG THE MEXICANS. 

erection of suitable buildings for the conteiuplated 
mission. 

I left Monterey in August of ^65, and it may 
not be amiss to give some of the incidents of my 
journey by the way. 

During my stay in Monterey the Imperialists 
had come into power. We retired one night the 
subjects of a Republic, and arose the next morning 
under the dominion of an Empire — the Republi- 
cans quietly evacuating during the night, and tlie 
Imperialists taking possession. Consequently, 
Monterey and Matamoras were now both under the 
same government ; but Cortinas still maintained 
his reign in the intervening territory, much to tlie 
disquietude of the people, especially to that of trav- 
elers. His principal intention was to harass tlie 
Maximilian government by cutting off all com- 
munication by mail, and hindering the transfer of 
goods. But he was nowise scrupulous whom 
he encountered, provided booty could be ob- 
tained. 

He had assumed the character of a regular 
guerrilla chieftain, having under his control about 
a thousand desperadoes of like character with liim- 
self. It had become extremely hazardous to travel 
through his dominions, and every stage attempting 
to pass met with portions of his command, and 
passengers were dispossessed of every thing they 
had, escaping only with their lives. There was no 
other way for me to get to the frontier but to pass 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 123 

these banditti, as they extended in all directions, so 
as entirely to intercept travel. 

I waited some time for more favorable indications 
before I should feel justified in starting. Finally, 
a train of merchandise arrived in Monterey from 
Matamoras, having been protected from Cortinas' 
grasp by a convoy of several hundred French sol- 
diers, and although constantly beset, it had suc- 
ceeded in getting through. This convoy was to re- 
turn to Matamoras, and it was thought stages 
might go along safely under its protection. There 
were two lines of stages, the proprietor of one be- 
ing an American ; that of the other, a Mexican. 
The former immediately decided to go, and it was 
deemed prudent for some of the merchants to send 
along a considerable amount of specie — some one 
hundred thousand dollars or more. One million 
was first proposed, but that amount was regarded 
quite too hazardous. 

I was invited by the American to go in his stage. 
He said to me, '^ I mean to get through safely, and 
I will see that you do also." 

Although advised to do so by other friends, I 
could not feel willing to go under the protection 
of French soldiers. My impression was very 
strong that the French had no right to be in Mex- 
ico, and I felt that I could not ask God to protect 
me by means of these foreign aggressors. Besides, 
I -well knew tliat Cortinas would be informed of 
the valuable prize, and that no efforts would be 



124 TWENTY YEAKS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

lacking to secure such a booty. Bullets would, I 
doubted uot, be flying from the ambush of the ban- 
ditti, and I did not choose to put myself in the way 
of them. 

I declined, from my own personal convictions, 
but several others, who had been waiting for con- 
veyance, took passage and left Monterey. The day 
after the departure of this stage, the proprietor of 
the other line proposed starting, and going along 
without any convoy. I immediately concluded to 
go, for quite satisfactory reasons to my own mind. 
In the first place, we were requested to take no bag- 
gage, therefore we would offer no prize to Cortinas. 
Another weighty reason was that the driver was a 
Mexican, the same with whom I had traveled a 
few months before, and I already knew his powers 
of conciliation with his own people, and I had rea- 
son to believe that he would prove an expert in 
dealing with the ruffians we might have to en- 
counter. 

Several others concluded to go, among whom were 
two ladies — one a German, the other a Mexican. 
My friends furnished me with all needed supplies 
for any emergency ; and one kind friend, who had 
made ample provision, as she said, for a sojourn in 
Cortinas' camp, remarked with much apparent sad- 
ness, "I should feel much better about you, if you 
had gone with the convoy." 

At 4 P. M. of the second day after the departure 
of the other stage, we started, and, as we passed from 



TWENTY YEAES AlifONG THE MEXICANS. 125 

tlie outskirts of the city, I felt conscious of a con- 
voy accompanying us, but not of '^French soldiers/' 
All fear departed, and we traveled on without mo- 
lestation until the close of the fifth day. Occasion- 
ally soaie one would say, '' Tliere are the robbers !'' 
But if there, they did not molest us. We stopped, 
intending to remain a few hours, but were informed 
that the convoy had passed only three hours before. 
This was regarded a dangerous proximity, as we 
had no desire to share their chances of escaping Cor- 
tinas. Our driver immediately started on another 
road (as roads abound in Mexico) and we traveled 
all night, excepting a few hours for the mules to 
rest. In the morning we came to a ranch, and upon 
inquiry, found we were but a short distance from 
the camp of Cortinas ! There was no retreat then, 
and it was thought much better to go forward than 
attempt to evade him, so we went bravely on. Soon 
we were met by a company of horsemen, who in- 
formed us we must go to the camp as prisoners. 
Arriving there, we were told that Cortinas was dis- 
tant some ten miles, and he would have to be brought 
before any disposition could be made of us. Our 
carriage was driven into the center of a large space, 
around which were stationed vast numbers of armed 
men, some on foot and some on horses, evidently 
prepared for any emergency. 

Our mules were removed, and we remained sitting 
in the stage. Looking about, I saw several men 
lying around on the grass evidently sick. The 



126 T^VE^'TY years among the mexica:ns. 

thought immediately struck me: I will try and 
alleviate their sufFerings, and let these people see I 
am a friend to them, although their prisoner. Ac- 
cordingly, I took some articles of food and choice 
delicacies, got out of the carriage, and walked very 
deliberately about among the sick. Finding some 
with a burning fever, I administered to them such 
cordials as I had. One asked for camphor, w^iich I 
regretted, I could not give him. But I felt grati- 
fied in imparting even a ray of comfort to suffering 
humanity, although to such a rough class of human 
beings. I returned to the stage, and very soon it 
w^as surrounded by men who looked as if they too 
would like some token of my favor. I disposed of 
my ample supply of provisions among them, and 
found I was fast making friends in my new quar- 
ters. Knowing Mexican character so well, I was 
perfectly assured I had gained considerable ground 
in securing personal protection in any emergency in 
which I might be placed. 

An officer, who seemed to have charge, rode up, 
and I asked him if I had any reason for apprehend- 
ing danger ? He seemed much mortified at my sug- 
gestion and replied, ^'An American lady shall not 
be harmed. '' In about five hours, Cortinas' ap- 
proach w^as heralded by a band of martial music, 
and soon he, with his body-guard, was before us. 
He was the complete personification of a guerrilla 
chief. His Indian face and evil eye, portrayed the 
desperate character he had for many years sustained 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 127 

upon the frontier ; and we felt any thing but com- 
fortable while he sat on his horse in silent con- 
templation, evidently considering what he should 
do with us. My w^orst apprehensions were that he 
would take our carriage and mules, and leave us 
helpless in the midst of our journey. 

After some time of suspense, Cortinas put his 
hand upon his stomach, and looking earnestly at us, 
said, ^' Yo tengo hambre,'' (I am hungry.) We 
immediately took the hint that he wanted his din- 
ner, and we were not slow in bringing our best sup- 
plies for the occasion — sending them into a jacal 
near by. Cortinas and his staff went in, and, after 
remaining about half an hour, came out, looking 
very good natured, and, after some conversation with 
our driver, gave him a pass, and bade us go in peace. 

I was informed, while in camp, that Cortinas was 
going out that night to attack the convoy and stage, 
and obtain the money, of which they were perfectly 
well informed. With such a prize in view we were 
let off as of comparatively small importance. I 
felt anxious for the passengers, some of whom I 
knew, but could do nothing for them, but lift a 
prayer to God tliat their lives might be spared. 

On account of a quarantine at Brazos, I was de- 
tained at Brownsville some four weeks. Great ap- 
prehensions were felt for the other stage, and it was 
fully three weeks before any reliable information 
could be obtained of its fate. A courier, at length, 
arrived from Monterey bringing the news that Cor- 



128 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICAJJ^S. 

tinas did really attack the convoy, killing and tak- 
ing jDrisoners many of the soldiers, and robbing the 
stage of the money, but permitting the passengers 
to return to Monterey. 

An ex-confederate general and his aid, who were 
traveling in their own carriage, were murdered, 
while four thousand dollars in gold, and their horse 
and carriage, were taken by Cortinas. 

It was said at that time that a man with a " blue 
coat'' could pass Cortinas' camp unhurt, while a 
^'gray coat" would uniformly come up missing. 
The attitude which the United States government 
assumed in regard to expelling the French from 
Mexico, and also the designs of the South toAvard 
Mexico in case of the success of the Confederacy, 
were fully understood by the INIexican people. This 
explaiued the difference of treatment. 



TWEivTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICA2sS. 129 



CHAPTER XYII. 

Arrive in New York — The American and Foreign Christian 
Union approve my plan — No money in their treasury for 
building purposes — Obliged to make personal solicitation 
from individuals — First donation $500 — Other liberal con- 
tributions — Crowning donation, $10,000, by one individual 
— Obtained the necessary amount — Returned to Monterey — 
Eev. Mr. Rickey's death — Mr. Thomas Westrup appointed 
by the B. S. as successor — Purchased a building for the 
Protestant mission — To be enlarged and remodeled — Mex- 
ican converts would make good missionaries — Decided to 
employ four — Wrote to the A. & F. C. U. for the means — 
No money could be granted — Eesolve to go to the U. S. 
and obtain it — Approved by the Board — Come to N. Y. — • 
Appeal to the Christian ladies — Favorable response by the 
ladies of Hartford and New Haven, Conn, — Sufficient 
means obtained for employing eight men from different 
sources — Returned to Monterey — Mission house ready for 
occupancy — Commissioned the Bible readers to go forth — 
Success of their labors about Monterey. 

AS soon as the quarantine was raised at Brazos, I 
took the first steamer for New Orleans; and 
from theuce, came by sea to New York, arriving the 
first of October. My plan of erecting a church and 
school building in Monterey was approved by the 
Board of the American and Foreign Christian 
Union, but no aid from the society couhl be granted, 
as there were no funds in the treasury for building 
purposes. I was thrown upon the beuevolence of 



130 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

inclividiials, and again was obliged to make personal 
solicitation. The proposition to obtain fifteen thou- 
sand dollars, the amount which I felt the object de- 
manded, was regarded by the board as somewhat 
extravagant, and it was suggested by some of the 
members that I should modify my expectations. As 
exchange was at that time, fifteen thousand in cur- 
rency was only equivalent to ten thousand in specie, 
and, I very well knew, that I could not purchase 
or build, as property was estimated in Monterey at 
that time, an edifice to answer all necessary purposes 
for any less sum than ten thousand dollars. I was 
aware of an improved state of feeling of my Amer- 
ican friends toward Mexico, and I fully believed I 
should find persons who would contribute liberally. 
I started out on the arduous and trying labor, 
and was most agreeably surprised upon my first ap- 
plication to receive a five hundred dollar donation 
from a merchant, T. N. Dale, Esq., of New York. 
I continued to realize liberal contributions from 
Christian gentlemen, both in New York and Bos- 
ton. But my crowning donation was ten thousand 
dollars from one individual, E. D. Goodrich, Esq., 
of Boston. This liberality was quite an advance on 
what T received in my early solicitations for Mexi- 
co. In former times I was satisfied and thankful 
with a ^^ one dollar ^^ donation, and, "not having de- 
spised the day of small things," the Lord rewarded 
me by this remarkable display of his faithfulness 
and loving kindness. '^ Be thou faithful over a 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 131 

few tilings, and I will make thee ruler over many 
things/' 

In May of 1866, I had procured in money and 
pledges sufficient for my object; and again set my 
face toward Mexico, truly happy and thankful to 
my kind friends who had so generously aided me in 
my enterprise. 

Upon my arrival in Mexico, I found a republic 
again, although in an unsettled condition. Juarez 
had returned to the capital, and law and order were 
being restored as far as possible, under the difficul- 
ties which abounded throughout the country. 

I rented a house, opened a school, and began to 
look for a favorable location for building or purchas- 
ing one already built, and remodeling it, so as to 
answer all our demands. The distribution of the 
Bible was progressing with encouraging prospects, 
but in the midst of Mr. Hickey's useful labors, he 
was, in November, 1866, suddenly removed by 
death. More than a passing tribute is due this man 
for his unwearied labors to circulate the Word of 
Truth among the benighted people of Mexico. A 
valuable friend was lost to the cause of evangelical 
religion when this good man was called to lay off 
his armor for his rest on high. His name still lives 
among this people for whom he labored, and long- 
will those hills and valleys which he traversed be 
bearing fruit from the precious seed he scattered. 
The American Bible Society appointed another 
agent, Mr. Thomas Westrup, who also had Mexican 



132 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

evangelization at heart, and the work continued to 
go on prosperously. 

After some months looking, waiting, and counsel- 
ing, I determined upon a location for planting the 
first Protestant mission in jN'orthern Mexico, as far 
as mission premises were concerned. An edifice, 
occupying a very favorable position in the city, 
formerly built and owned by a Catholic priest, was 
for sale, and which seemed adapted to our demands. 
I availed myself of the advice of judicious persons 
who were interested in the mission, and their opin- 
ion corresponding with mine, finally brought me to 
the conclusion to make the purchase. The price I 
paid for the property was regarded by competent 
judges a very low figure for that time. The man 
of whom I purchased was offered the day after he 
sold to me, five hundred dollars in gold for the bar- 
gain ; but this Mexican, to his honor, replied, " I 
have passed my word to the lady, and she shall 
have it.'' 

Although the building was very well finished for 
a Mexican house, yet it required enlarging and 
remodeling to answer the triple office of chapel, 
schools, and residence. I was recommended to an 
Englishman, who was said to be a competent man, 
and engaged him, at a fair compensation, to do the 
work.* Several months would elapse before the 
building would be completed for occupancy, and I 

* The contract was made and writings were drawn up by a 
competent business man, an American, and friend to the mission. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 133 

looked around to see what work might present it- 
self in the meantime. 

Converts to the Protestant faith had multiplied ; 
and some of the men^ by continued and devoted 
study of the Scriptures^ had become quite capa- 
ble of instructing their fellow-countrymen in those 
truths Avhich they had found precious to their own 
souls. It occurred to me that a good working force 
might be made out of those. Mexican converts, for 
propagating the Gospel in Mexico. Indeed, I be- 
lieved that they were better prepared for efficient 
service than any foreign missionaries who might be 
brought upon the field, who, of course, would be 
entirely unacquainted with the peculiarities of Mex- 
ican character and customs. Although unlearned 
in any of the sciences, except what they had learned 
from the Bible, I doubted not that they might be 
able to explain salvation by Christ, to the saving 
of many souls. 

I then selected four of the converts, and asked 
them if they would be willing to go out among 
their people abroad and preach Christ. 

They said they would like to do it, but they had 
their families to support by their daily labor, and, 
consequently, could not give their whole time. 

I inquired the amount required for their families. 

They said, "About thirty dollars a month.^' 

I then put the question, " If I will provide for 
your families, will you give all your time to the 
spread of the Gospel?" 



1 34 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

They answered in the affirmative, but wished it 
distinctly understood that they would not be paid 
for preaching the Gospel; for, said they, "that 
must be without money, and witliout price.'' 

The matter being settled with them satisfacto- 
rily, I wrote to the American and Foreign Chris- 
tian Union, asking for the means of putting these 
men into the field, which " was already white for the 
harvest." I received the reply that no money could 
be granted for the proposed work, as their treasury 
was already overdrawn for work in other lands. 
But could such a work as that presented to me be 
relinquished because of this refusal? 

Must souls, for whom Christ died, be left to per- 
ish in Mexico for the want of money? Nay, verily, 
I will get it. He who has declared " the silver and 
the gold to be his,'' will surely unlock the hearts 
of his people to furnish the means, that His name 
may be glorified in the salvation of souls even in 
Mexico. So I took my life again in my hand, or 
rather put it into the hands of my long-tried Pre- 
server, and performed another hazardous journey 
out of Mexico, arriving in New York in May, 
1867. 

My course was approved by the Society, and full 
permission was granted me for making independent 
solicitations for my object. I did not think proper 
to go to the churches, as most of them were already 
contributing to the Union, but decided to appeal to 
the Christian women of the land to aid in sendinoj 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 135 

out these native teachers of the Gospel in Mex- 
ico. 

Nor did my decision prove a vain speculation. 
"While waiting in Xew York for Divine direction 
I received a letter from the ladies of Hartford, 
Conn., inviting me to come there and give some 
account of the work in Mexico. Eegarding the 
invitation as a hopeful indication of God's provi- 
dence, I hastened to comply. A meeting was 
called, and I found an appreciative audience. 
These Christian ladies took the measure of my 
purpose, heartily indorsing the plan, and came for- 
ward and pledged one thousand dollars annually 
for the support of native Bible-readers and colpor- 
teurs in Mexico. With letters of recommenda- 
tion, I went to New Haven, Conn., and a similar 
meeting was called, and another thousand dollars 
pledged. Need I enlarge upon the emotions of 
gratitude which sprang up in my heart at this no- 
ble demonstration of woman's love for the work of 
her Divine Master? I felt like applying those pre- 
cious words which our Saviour used in regard to 
the services of one of old : ^' Wheresover the gospel 
is preached throughout the whole world, this that 
these women have done shall be spoken of as a 
memorial of them." Truly, I thanked God and 
took courage, believing I should yet see the Gospel 
preached in Mexico by the Mexican themselves. 

As the time for my return had not arrived, I 
concluded to continue my solicitation and obtain 



136 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

money for putting more native converts into the 
work, as I knew they might be found. I visited 
some other places in New England and in the State 
of Usew York, and from the Christian ladies I ob- 
tained, after a few months, sufficient funds for em- 
ploying seven or eight men. 

With exultant hopes, I returned and found my 
building ready for occupancy. In it we commenced 
public worship on the Sabbath, holding also two 
meetings a week ; and I opened a school for Mex- 
ican girls. As soon as practicable, I gathered to- 
gether my missionary band of native laborers, send- 
ing them oat two and two, as our Saviour sent out 
the early disciples. This accorded with their views, 
as they believed the examples of Scripture to be 
their only guide. The Bible, distributed by the 
Society's agents, had prepared the way, and many 
souls were longing for more light and instruction. 

The morning of their starting out upon the work, 
when they came for their instructions, I noticed two 
of the youngest men looked troubled, and I inquired 
the cause. 

They said they were afraid they would meet with 
opposers, and that they might not be able to refute 
arguments which enemies might bring against the 
Bible ; particularly they feared a priest whom they 
expected to encounter in the way. 

I read to them the tenth chapter of Luke, in 
which is the account of Christ sending out the sev- 
enty, and drew their attention to the expression, 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 137 

'' and he sent them two and two before his face in- 
to every city and plsice, whither he hwiself would 
comcj^ particularly the last clause. I said to them, 
" You are going out in Christ's name to preach 
His Gospel, and you may expect His presence and 
blessing as he has promised." Their confidence 
seemed to be renewed, and they cheerfully took 
their bundle of books and departed. 

Need I say this w^as an auspicious morning to 
me? As these messengers of a pure Gospel went 
forth to dispense light and truth in that dark papal 
land, my heart burst forth in joyful exclamations 
in behalf of Mexico: ''Arise, shine; for thy light 
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon 
thee.'' 

At the close of the month they all returned, each 
with a favorable report. They had been kindly re- 
ceived and entertained for the valuable instructions 
they were able to impart. Those two young men 
who went forth trembling came back rejoicing, 
saying, " Every one whom we met listened to our 
teachings without any opposition ; and even the 
priest whom we so much dreaded said no harm of 
the Bible." 

I turned to the scene of the return of Christ's 
laborers and read of the seventy returning again 
with joy, saying, " Lord, even the devils are sub- 
ject unto us through thy name." 

Thus these men continued, from month to month, 
traversing the country within the circle of one hun- 
12 



138 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

dred miles around Monterey, teaching and preach- 
ing the things concerning the kingdom of God. 
They went from house to house and from ranch to 
ranch, and many souls were brought out of dark- 
ness into the light and liberty of the Gospel. 



I 



TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 139 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Begions beyond — Send Bible-readers to the State of Zacatecas — 
Influence of an American gentleman — Churcli organized at 
Cos — Letter from the " Christian World," giving the re- 
sults of the labors of these Bible-readers — Mr. AVestrup, 
Bible agent, baptizes forty converts — This mission was 
transferred, in 1871, by the A. & F. C. U., to the Presby- 
terian Board of Missions — Converts multiply in Monterey 
and vicinity — Letters written to the " Christian AVorld " — 
Details of the work — Interesting incidents — The priests 
discomfited — An open Bible their dread — Various disturb- 
ances — Our Bible-readers persevere. 

FEELIXG we must penetrate "the regions be- 
yond/' I concluded to send two of the laborers 
into the State of Zacatecas, a distance of some three 
or four hundred miles. I selected the two youug 
men already mentioned, who, with two of the Bi- 
ble Society's colporteurs, went forth dispensing the 
Gospel on their entire route. Arriving at a place 
called Villa de Cos, they remained for several 
weeks, teaching and preaching with great success. 
The State of Zacatecas had been highly favored by 
the residence of an American, a decided Christian 
gentleman, for some years, ^vhose influence, no 
doubt, had prepared the way somewhat for the re- 
markable fruits which resulted from the labors of 
our native Bible-readers. 

Perhaps I can not better present the aspect of 



140 TWENTY YEAKS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

the work at that time than by ioserting a letter 
published in the December number, 1868, of the 
'' Christian World," organ of the A. & F. C. U. 
It was written by a gentleman occupying a distin- 
guished political and social position, a resident of 
Zacatecas. The letter was dated Cos, July 4, 1868. 
He says : 

" I believe that it will be satisfactory for you to 
know the development which the religious senti- 
ment is undergoing in this country; and how true 
it is, as we have considered, that if evangelical 
ministers would come to labor here, the light of 
truth would rapidly spread abroad and diminish 
the influence of that fanaticism which the Romish 
clergy has established. In consequence of some 
sellers of Bibles and other religions books, having 
come here from Monterey, public attention has been 

awakened in a lively manner 

Several persons interested by the simple reading 
of the Scriptures, united for the purpose of dili- 
gently studying them. At first, they were few, 
but have gradually increased, until, on the arrival 
of Mr. AYestrnp, Bible agent, about forty received 
baptism (by pouring), and partook of the com- 
munion, according to the Protestant sense of it, as 
a solemn memorial of the sacrifice of Christ. 

" Did you anticipate any thing of this kind ? 
Probably not; knowing as you do, the terrible 
influence of our clergy, who now, however are as- 
tonished at the wide breach that has been oj)ened 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 141 

in their dominion. Behold then, how, at the first 
gleam of light over these regions, we discover that 
the soil is fertile, and only requires intelligent work- 
men to cultivate it in order to utterly cast down that 
sacerdotal rule which has occasioned such untold 
evils in this country, degrading and demoralizing 
its inhabitants.'^ 

Among the number who professed conversion, 
were two highly educated Mexican men — a father 
and son, who, upon the departure of our Bible- 
readers, took up the work and continued to carry it 
forward successfully. They soon started a periodi- 
cal, called "The Evangelical Torch,'^ a paper which 
circulated quite extensively, enlightening public 
sentiment generally, and valiantly defended the 
Truth against the most violent opposers. I take 
the liberty of continuing a brief history of this work 
in Zacatecas. 

Two years after this work commenced, there was 
a membership of the church, of one hundred and 
seventy members, and an edifice had been erected, 
mainly by the Mexicans themselves. In 1871, an 
urgent request Avas made to the American and 
Foreign Christian Union for a foreign missionary. 
This Board could not furnish a man who could speak 
the Spanish, and the Presbyterian Board of Missions 
having a man who had labored in South America, 
whom they could put immediately into the field, it 
was thought best by the A. & F. C. U. to transfer 
the Mission to the Presbyterian Board ; and since 



142 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

November of 1871 * this mission has been under 
their auspices, and I am happy to know is receiv- 
ing a good share of prosperity. 

But to return to the mission of Monterey and its 
vicinity. Perhaps I can not better exhibit the as- 
pect of the work, as it presented itself at that time, 
than to copy some of the letters I wrote, which were 
published in the " Christian World." 

To a disinterested observer, I doubt not, my des- 
criptions may appear somewhat embellished, but 
some degree of allowance may be made for my stand- 
point. Having looked upon Mexico years before, 
shut up in papal darkness, with scarcely a ray of 
hope, how could I feel otherwise than joyful and 
exultant at the manifest evidence of the power of 
truth over superstition and error? 

Would the military soldier who had skirmished 
long upon' the outskirts of the enemy's country, 
with scarcely any human hope of ever getting a foot- 
hold, feel otherwise than exultant when he plants 
himself in the heart of that land, and finds all bar- 
riers to his permanent occupancy gradually disap- 
pearing? I am sure not. But to the letters : The 
following is dated, Monterey, December, 1868 : 

" Not since the glorious days of Martin Luther, 
in which divine truth electrified the blinded subjects 
of the apostate church into a new life, has there been 



* On account of a revolution in Mexico, missionaries were 
not sent until November, 1872. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 143 

a more remarkable exemplification of its potency than 
we are witnessing at the present time in Mexico. It 
is truly gratifying to see with what satisfaction these 
long deluded followers of Rome take the precious 
truths of God's Word into their inmost hearts. 

"All ages and conditions are alike influenced by its 
transforming power. A man who had been a terror 
to the country around, by his savage conduct, has 
been so changed that he has the spirit of a lamb. 
His wife, who was often obliged to hide herself to 
escape his beatings, providentially met with a poor 
girl, who had become a convert to the truth, to whom 
she related the brutal treatment she frequently re- 
ceived from her husband. This girl told her of the 
religion which the Bible taught, in which husbands 
were commanded ^to love their wives and be not 
bitter against them.' The unfortunate woman was 
forcibly struck with the blessedness of such a relig- 
ion, and begged the girl to get the book which 
contained it, and possibly she might prevail upon 
her husband to read it. The girl had no Bible her- 
self, as she could not read, but had heard what she 
told the woman at the Protestant meeting. 

"A Mexican woman, who was a Christian, was 
urged to come and read the Bible to her husband. 
And strange to say, the savage man listened with at- 
tention to this first knowledge he had ever received 
from God's Word. He became deeply interested, 
and after abandoning one sin after another, he has 
become entirely a changed man in heart and con- 



144 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

duct. As soon as his mind began to be enlightened 
he toTe down his images, with which his house 
abounded, and threw them away. His own lan- 
guage to one of our colporteurs soon after this great 
change, was : ^ We have been taught to worship 
devils instead of God. The church of Rome is as 
different from the church of Christ, as hell is from 
heaven. How beautiful is the religion of Christ.^ 

" His wife also rejoices in the truth. It is now 
three mouths since his conversion, and he seems to 
be growing more and more sensible of the great sin- 
fulness of his past life, and the great obligation he 
is under to God for snatching him ^ as a brand from 
the burning/ 

" Wherever our Bible-readers go, souls are brought 
into the kingdom. Two went, two weeks ago, to 
Montemoreles, a town of some thousands of souls. 
They write me, * Never have we seen a jDCople so 
desirous to hear the truth, as contained in the holy 
Scriptures. Scarcely can we get time to eat and 
sleep, so anxious are they to hear our readings in 
God's Word. Several have professed conversion, 
and given evidence that they are born again. 
Among the number is an aged woman of sixty-nine, 
and a boy of thirteen years. Two men who threat- 
ened to shoot the colporteurs if they came there 
with their Bibles, are now sitting at the feet of Jesus 
in their right minds.' That Mexico is ripe for the 
Gospel, facts in abundance plainly show. And that 
God is most wonderfully raising up native agencies 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 145 

to cultivate this promising field, is equally evi- 
dent/' 

In connection with this letter, written 1868, I 
will insert an extract from the ^' Missionary Her- 
ald " (organ of the A. B. C. F. M.) of February, 
1875, in which is made mention of the mission in 
Montemoreles. I desire to do this to show to my 
readers that this early work of native Bible-read- 
ers was not evanescent, but has proven by its fruits 
to be genuine Gospel work. But to the ex- 
tract : 

" In October (1874) Mr. Herrick again visited 
several out-stations. At Montemoreles seven per- 
sons were received to the church, three of them 
heads of families. Mr. Herrick says no other one 
of their churches is increasing in numbers so fast 
as that of Montemoreles, and he thinks the con- 
verts are of a worthy class.'' 

In another letter of 1868 which I copy from the 
^' Christian World,'' I said : " Although I wrote a 
short time ago, yet I trust another communication 
from me and Mexico will not come amiss. Inci- 
dents of an interesting character are taking place 
among us which I think can not fail to interest 
you. The Gospel has taken root in Mexico, and 
is producing fruits truly delightful. Never, in any 
land of papal darkness, has the AYord of God 
shown itself to ^ be sharper than a two-edged 
sword ' with more certainty than in Mexico — a 
couutry where the ^ mystery of iniquity ' has so 
13 



146 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

long prevailed, and the * wicked ' one has so 
boldly revealed himself, ^even him whose coming 
has been after the working of Satan, with all power 
and lying wonders.' The people who have so long 
groaned under the oppressive yoke of that false 
system, are happy in finding a religion more toler- 
ant in its demands. 

*^ Those who have embraced the religion of the 
Bible acknowledge the freedom which the Truth 
has given them. I met, yesterday, with an old 
man of seventy years, who has recently been con- 
verted. His face beamed with happiness as I asked 
him : ^ You find this new religion pleasant, do 
you ? ' He replied, * Oh, yes, there is no yoke 
but is easy, and no burden but is light.' 
'• '^ He came in from a small village, about forty 
miles from Monterey. He informed me that 
twelve persons, within a few months, had em- 
braced the Gospel, and were rejoicing in it. Four 
of his own family, besides himself, were among the 
number. This work of grace was wrought through 
the instrumentality of a man, (Mexican), who was 
converted about a year ago in Cadereyta. Who 
can doubt that this man is called to preach Christ, 
when such fruits are manifest ? I have never wit- 
nessed a work more truly evangelical, or seen more 
correct examples of true evangelists than we have 
among the Mexican converts. 

" Last Sabbath tliere came into our Sunday-school 
two young men, vfhQ evidently, by their manner, 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 147 

came for the purpose of caviling, and tarning our 
religion into ridicule. The superintendent met 
them at the door, asked them to take seats, and sat 
down by their side. After some little hesitation, 
one of them very impertinently inquired, ' AVhat 
do you call yourselves? Methodists, Episcopalians, 
Baptists, or Presbyterians?' The superintendent 
very pleasantly replied, * We call ourselves Chris- 
tians.' 

" The other visitor then inquired respecting our 
belief. He was answered by being shown the third 
chapter of John's Gospel, which he was requested 
to read. I observed his countenance changed while 
reading the solemn declarations of our Savior re- 
specting the necessity of being ^ born again,' in 
order to become a true Christian and fit for the 
kingdom of heaven. Immediately upon getting 
through they arose, saying, ^ We will come again,' 
and politely withdrew. What struck me most 
forcibly was the manner in which their imperti- 
nence was met. 

" Their appearance indicated that they belonged 
to the first class of society. They were no doubt 
champions of the Roman Catholic religion, but the 
simple truths of God's Word completely disarmed 
them, and I could readily account for the wonder- 
ful success which crowns the labors of these con- 
verted Mexicans. They present the truth as it is 
in Jesus, and it does not fail of its legitimate re- 
sults. They find no better arguments than our 



148 TWE^sTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Savior's own most blessed words^ aud upon tbem 
they rely.*' 

In another letter I say : " Our Bible-readers are 
traveling over these hills and mountains, teachiug 
by the way-side, in the ranches, villages, and cities, 
wherever they can find people to hear them, and it 
is rare that they find the people otherwise than 
anxious to hear something about the new religion, 
of which they have already an indistinct account. 
Some express the greatest surprise that the Prot- 
estants teach such good things, as they had been 
told by the priests to avoid Protestant teachings 
more than murder or any other terrible crime. 

" The spirit of controversy is scarcely found 
among them. Particular subjects, upon which they 
had relied for the support of their religion, are 
brought forward for explanation. For instance, a 
Bible reader was asked to explain how the words 
of Christ could be understood so as not to have it 
appear that Peter was the rock upon which the 
church was built. It was explained to the satisfac- 
tion of the inquirers that Christ was the chief cor- 
ner-stone, and that he referred to himself, and not 
to Peter, when he said, ' Upon this rock will I 
build my church.' Six intelligent Mexicans were 
present, all of whom expressed the utmost gratifi- 
cation that this strong bulwark of the papacy was 
so easily removed. Does it not a])pear evident 
that the papal power sits loosely upon these people? 
The Mexicans have been steeped and dyed in the 



TWENTY YEARS AMOMG THE MEXICANS. 149 

Roman Catholic religion^ and no longer than a 
dozen years ago Satan sat undisturbed upon his 
throne, with * gates of brass/ and bars of iron, en- 
compassing the miserable subjects of his king- 
dom. 

" But lo ! God's Word found its way into these 
dark regions, and revealed to these priest-bound 
people that human law had no right to enslave the 
consciences of God's accountable creatures. These 
long enslaved subjects of papal dominion arose en 
massey and, after years of desperate struggle, ob- 
tained religious freedom. Satan's kingdom now 
totters, never again to be re-established in Mexico. 

" Efforts have been made to restore again the 
supremacy of the Romish religion ; but foreign 
bayonets and imperial power proved inadequate be- 
fore the purpose of a determined people. The priu- 
cii)les of religious freedom have taken such firm 
hold of the Mexican people, that no papal shackles 
can ever again enslave them. As well may the ele- 
ments be stayed by human efforts, as the progress 
of truth be resisted when it gets firmly fixed in the 
mind. The AYord of God can not be bound, and 
will not be, until Mexico is brought to know its 
truths in all their saving power. May the Lord 
hasten it in his own good time." 

A subsequent letter shows some of the annoy- 
ances to which we were subject at this period, prov- 
ing that somebody was getting his toes stepped on. 
The letter says : 



150 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

" Rome, every now and then, gets much disturbed, 
and does all in her power to overthrow the religion 
of the Bible in Mexico. She has had several severe 
throes in Monterey since this building has been de- 
voted to Protestant worship. During the bishop's 
recent visit, every means were used to disturb our 
Avorship, and had we occupied premises of which we 
could have been dispossessed, we should have been, 
in all probability, driven out. But we sat securely 
^' under our own vine and fig tree," and let Satan 
roar without, until he apparently came to the con- 
clusion that we could not be moved, and finally 
ceased his clamor. 

'^ Romanism still lives in Mexico, but seems to 
have lost much of her subtilty, fi^r in her attempts 
to oppose Truth she often defeats her own ill de- 
signs. About two months ago, two of our Bible 
readers entered the city of Durango, with their 
Bibles and other printed truth. The priests stirred 
up the populace against them to such a degree that 
their lives were in imminent danger. The order 
from these spiritual overseers was, ^ Stop these her- 
etical teachings or do away with the men.' Un- 
daunted by their threats, our men appealed to the 
authorities, and a guard of soldiers was immediately 
sent to their protection, and they continued their 
teachings to numbers of people desirous of learning 
the truth. The Alcalde told them ^to preach to 
their heart's content, and if a regiment of soldiers 
was necessary for their safety, it should be granted.' 



TWEXTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 151 

" Popery is evidently shorn of its most potent 
element — the power of coercion — and its former 
glory has in a great measure departed. In propor- 
tion as a pure Christianity is propagated, in the 
same ratio its hold on the hearts of the people be- 
comes relaxed. 

^^As the strongholds of that apostate church are 
being broken down, ^the leaves which are for the 
healing of the nations/ are especially needed. The 
American Tract Society's publications are in great 
demand; the printed truth, scattered broadcast over 
the country in the wake of the Bible, is now im- 
peratively required. God has most wonderfully 
raised up agencies on the field for scattering the 
seeds of Divine Truth, and ' the wilderness and the 
solitary place' are being made glad by the heralds 
of the Gospel, who are being sent out to proclaim 
its truths. 

*' With due self-distrust and humility, they seera 
fully aware of their utter inability to do any good 
of themselves. Their dependence is upon their 
Divine Master, who, they confidently believe, calls 
them forth in his work. I trust the Christian la- 
dies who have so nobly undertaken the support of 
these heralds of the cross, will not fail nor be dis- 
couraged until truth is established in this dark 
land.'' 



152 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Mission commenced in the City of Mexico — Bibles had been 
circulated by the British Bible Society — Kev. Henry C. 
Kiley sent by the A. & F. C. U. — His view of the work, 
and success — Letter from an Englishman — Fields white 
for the harvest. 

NOT only had I occasion for rejoicing over the 
promising aspect of the work in Northern 
Mexico, but from other parts of the country came 
cheering tidings. In 1869, Rev. Henry C Riley 
was sent by the American and Foreign Christian 
to the City of Mexico. Mr. Riley had spent much 
of his life in South America, consequently was well 
acquainted with the Spanish language, and also of 
Spanish character; besides, was a Christian gentle- 
man eminently qualified to inaugurate and direct a 
Protestant mission in this important field. Mr. R. 
had, for some time previous, ministered to a church 
in New York city composed of Spanish speaking 
people. In the summer of 1868, I was in New 
York, and met Mr. Riley, who had long been a 
personal friend. Our meeting was in the Bible 
House, and after the usual salutations, he said to 
me, " Miss Rankin, why do you not go to the City 
of Mexico, where there are two hundred thousand 
souls, instead of laboring in Monterey of only about 



TWENTY YEAKS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 158 

forty thousand ?^^ I replied that I felt I was in 
the field to which God's providence had called me ; 
besides I thought forty thousand souls a goodly 
number to labor for. I then put the question, " Mr. 
Riley, why do you not go to the City of Mexico ?'' 
^' Oh/' said he, " I can not leave my Spanish church 
in New York; only yesterday a Cuban lady really 
wept because she had heard a report that I was 
going to leave.'' ^^ How large a church and congre- 
gation have you? " "About two or three hundred." 
"But, Mr. Riley, can you feel justified in remain- 
ing here and preaching to a few hundred people 
who are surrounded with Gospel privileges, when 
you might go to the City of Mexico where there 
are two hundred thousand souls without one Gospel 
preacher?" Mr. R. cast his eyes toward the floor, 
and stood without speaking for several minutes; 
then looking up with a cheerful face, said, " Miss 
Rankin, I icill go. Next August you will hear from 
me in the City of Mexico." \Ye parted ; and sure 
enough, I heard from Mr. Riley, at the proposed 
time, from the City of Mexico, and now let us hear 
what he says of his new field of labor. I quote: 

" There is a perfect hurricane of Protestant feel- 
ing raging against the Roman church. I feel much 
as if I had suddenly found myself in the time of 
the Reformation. The great thing for us to do is 
to plant Christian churches and institutions here as 
rapidly as possible. 

" Long have these native Christians looked to 



154 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

their brethren in the United States in hope. May 
they now have their hopes realized. If the Amer- 
ican Church will make an effort worthy of the op- 
portunity Christ has given them in this land, Mex- 
ico might write one of the brightest and most deeply 
interesting pages in missionary history in the course 
of the next few years." * 

This view of Mr. Eiley, I believe, was not un- 
grounded enthusiasm, but the result of impressions 
suggested by the actual manifestations of the field. 
It appeared fully evident that the Holy Spirit was 
brooding over that whole land, and that only the 
proper means need be used for Him to descend with 
all his healing powder into the hearts of multitudes 
of Mexican people, who had become utterly dis- 
gusted with the religion of Rome, and were waiting 
for a religion better adapted to the wants of their 
immortal natures. 

To show that others saw things highly encourag- 
ing, I will copy a letter written to the "Christian 
World" by an English gentleman, who had been 
for many years a resident of Mexico. As some of 
the representations made by Mr. Hiley and myself 
have been regarded as somewhat " rose-colored," I 
hope that the opinions of this staid Englishman 
may serve to remove the imputation and corroborate 
our statements of the circumstances of these needy, 



*In two years after Mr. K. went to Mexico he had a church 
in the city of 400 members, and this mission became really the 
most important in the whole country, and continues to be so. 



TWENTY YEAFvS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 155 

waiting people. This letter was dated, City of 
Mexico, May 17, 1869. It says: 

^' It is impossible to look at the present state of 
this country, (Mexico) without being sensible that 
now is the appointed time for every servant of the 
most high — for every believer in the blessed Savior 
— for every Christian to exert himself to the utmost 
to assist these unhappy people, who are now ready 
and anxious to receive the glad tidings of the Gos- 
pel. If the Christian brethren of the United States 
could see what I see, and feel what I feel, when I 
attend the meetings of the evangelical brethren ; if 
they could see the more than two hundred persons 
united in supplicating God, in reading and hearing 
the Gospel, in singing the expressive and beautiful 
hymns with a manfully intense feeling of devotion, 
they would be convinced that there is no country 
which requires or deserves their assisstance more 
than this. Much has already been attained by the 
eiforts of some earnest laborers in the good cause." 

^ jK ^fi :^ ^ :^ ^ 

The arrival of Eev. H. C. Eiley has given a 
further stimulus to these laborers in the vineyard, 
since he has shown us how to direct our efforts, and 
by teaching the children to sing, has perfected 
our mode of worship, and nearly doubled our con- 
gregation. 

" There are already five or six congregations 
which are calling loudly for aid — either for preach- 
ers or books. The former is very difficult to pro- 



156 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

cure, and the latter are required by thousands. . . 
After reading one, they beg more earnestly for more. 
They see the Bible quoted in them, and their curi- 
osity is excited, and their consciences are awakened. 
They inquire, ^ Can these things be so?' They get 
the Bible to examine.^' 

"Consider a population of eight millions of souls 
to be saved — nearly all willing, and thousands anx- 
ious to learn the way to eternal life, which they will 
by reading these books, and thus be led to the study 
of the Scriptures. It is impossible for me to find 
words to express the profound conviction which I 
feel, that now is the appointed time to introduce the 
true worship.^' 

"Laborers, artisans, and even soldiers attend our 
meetings. They are poor, and, therefore, more 
willing to turn to Christ; are unlearned, but learn 
all tliat is necessary for salvation in the Bible, and 
the tracts which assist in understanding it. May 
our Heavenly Father incline your hearts to help us.'' 



TWENTY YEAKS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 157 



CHAPTEE XX. 

Organization of Societies — Evangelical Society of Oaxaca, also 
one at Saltillo — The latter place not occupied — Should be, 
by a Protestant missionary — Found it necessary to have 
the work about Monterey properly organized — Procured 
the services of Pev. John Beveridge — He very soon organ- 
ized four churches — Mr. Westrup decides to become a 
Baptist — The majority of Mexican converts decide not to 
go with him — Futile attempts to move them — Ordination 
of two ministers — Two more churches organized — Eight 
schools in operation — Opening fields in the "regions be- 
yond." 

IT was quite common for Mexicans, at this 
period, after obtaining some knowledge of the 
Bible to organize " Societies '^ for the purpose of 
mutual instruction. The feeling seemed to prevail 
that something must be done as a manifestation of 
their utter disaifection toward the Church of Rome, 
and as an earnest expression of desire for some- 
thing better. 

I will insert an article w^hich was published at 
that time, styled "An Invitation.^' It was dated 

" Oaxaca, May 24, 1868. 
"Sirs: 

" Jesus Christ, in establishing his religion, had 
for his object the moralization of mankind, and we 
know how much civilization has already advanced 
in consequence of the promulgation of His doc- 



158 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

trines, both in Europe and America. But in Mex- 
ico our conquerors brought us Catholicism — that is, 
the doctrine of Jesus Christ disfigured — fitted 
rather to brutalize than to moralize and civilize. 
Now, that beautiful system of free examination is 
presented to us — a system which so well harmon- 
izes with the democracy that rules us — the doc- 
trines of Jesus Christ should be at once adopted 
without any mixture or interpretation, but pure as 
they came forth from His Divine lips. We ought 
to do this, because we see that the nations that have 
done this are those in the vanguard of civilization, 
England in Europe, and the United States in 
America. 

'^ Look at our country ! What has Catholicism 
done for us? Transformed the greater part of our 
people into fiinatics, ignorant and foolish, and the 
rest into indifferent philosophers. . . . There- 
fore every Mexican who desires the good of his 
country should labor by every means within his 
reach that every shadow of retrogression disappear. 

" In order to obtain it, and that all this may 
not be purely visionary, it is necessary to establish 
a society which has for its object to instruct us in 
the doctrine of Jesus Christ ; having its meetings 
on the Sabbath ; and its secretary to open com- 
munication with other societies of this kind. 

" This society, once established, liberty of wor- 
ship in Oaxaca will be a reality, and, without 
doubt, if we are firm, consistent, and self-denying, 
our people will progress." 

Another similar Society was formed in Saltillo, 
capital of Cohahuila, neighboring state of Nuevo 
Leon, called the ^^ Society of Artezaus,'^ showing 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 159 

the first steps of this great movement toward a 
pure ChristiaDity. Its operations had frequently 
come to my notice through the Bible Society's 
agent, who had sometimes addressed them at their 
meetings. Three or four years after I went to 
Monterey, I received a letter, signed by twenty 
men, expressing the desire that I should send an 
evangelical minister to instruct them in their duty ; 
also, asking for some books treating particularly 
upon the Bible. They gave me quite an elaborate 
description of their origin and design. 

Their breaking away from the Church of Rome, 
it seemed, occurred several years prior to the pro- 
clamation of religious liberty in Mexico, and Avas 
produced by the reading of a Bible procured from 
a German Protestant (the same man whom I had 
supplied in 1857 and '58), and had their meetings 
secretly until liberty of conscience was granted, 
after which their operations were public. They 
had established and supported several schools, from 
which the Catholic catechism was excluded and the 
Bible was substituted. 

I complied with their request for books, but 
could not send them a minister. I regret to state 
that Saltillo has never been permanently occupied 
by a Protestant missionary* — thus far, no suitable 
man could be obtained. Many things conspire to 
render Saltillo a highly important missionary cen- 

* Rev. Mr. Park, an independent missionary, went there in 
1869, but staid only a short time. 



160 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

ter, and I hope it may soon become the seat of 
powerful Protestant influences through the agency 
of some missionary Board. 

In 1869 I became convinced that our converts in 
and about Monterey should become properly organ- 
ized into churches. Hitherto, congregations had 
been collected for worship, and men had been 
chosen and set apart for administering the sacra- 
ments. Rev. Mr. Hickey, the second Bible agent 
in Northern Mexico, administered the first baptisms 
by immersion, as that mode corresponded with the 
belief of the " Plymouth Brethren,'^ of whose So- 
ciety he was a member. After his death, his suc- 
cessor, Mr. Thomas Westrup, baptized converts 
both by immersion and by pouring water upon the 
head. At Villa de Cos, forty ^vere baptized by "the 
latter mode by Mr. Westrup. 

In the early part of ^69 I was obliged to come 
to the United States to procure funds for the mis- 
sion, and before leaving I asked Mr. AVestrup, who 
was then agent of the Bible Society, if he w^ould 
draw up a " Confession of Faith,^^ embracing the 
main articles of belief of our Mexican converts, 
remarking that I was frequently inquired of re- 
specting their doctrines, and I wished for some- 
thing to show which might satisfy the inquirers. 

I added, also, I wished it more particularly on 
his (Mr. AYestrup\s) account, as I knew the Bible 
Society felt somewhat apprehensive that he might 
be introducing something of a denominational 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 161 

character to bis labors; bis duty being, according to 
established rules, the distribution of the Bible, 
without note or comment. Mr.' Westrup very 
willingly acceded to my request, and drew up a 
confession of faith, to Avhicli he said, '^ every 
Mexican convert would subscribe,^' admitting three 
modes of baptism, sprinkling, immersion, and 
pouring, stating most emphatically that " impor- 
tance was not attached to the modej^ 

I w^as satisfied with the document, and brought 
it on to New York, showing it to the American 
and Foreign Christian Union, and to the Bible So- 
ciety, and entire satisfaction was expressed by the 
officers of those Boards. 

I had been in New York about two months when I 
received a letter from Mr. Westrup, stating that he 
w^as under the necessity of informing me that he had 
changed his mind since my departure upon the sub- 
ject of baptism. He said, he and all the converts 
had decided to become Baptists, and that ^' hence- 
forth the Mexican churches w^ould practice immer- 
sion only, and commune only with those who were 
thus baptized.'' I immediately A\rote a reply, that 
*' my object had been to bring souls to Christ in 
Mexico, and that, in the choice of their mode of 
baptism, I had no dictation to make." As a mis- 
sionary of the American and Foreign Christian 
Union, I had not the right of opposing a Baptist 
church beino; formed of the Mexican converts. I 
closed my letter by saying, '^ I commit the important 
11 



1G2 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

matter to the Great Head of the Church.^^ There 
I left it, feeling no particular anxiety about the 
matter, if souls could only be saved, and continued 
my work of collecting funds for the mission. Some- 
times the thought occurred, " Why should I labor to 
bring souls to Christ with whom I can not be per- 
mitted to commune at His table ?^^ 

But my prevailing impression was, that Mr. 
Westrup was laboring under a very great misappre- 
hension in regard to the sentiments of our Mexican 
Christians. Although there were some who preferred 
immersion, yet I well knew they had by voluntary 
and united consent, entirely abandoned the doctrine 
of close communion, which Mr. Hickey had instituted. 
After we occupied the mission house, the communion 
was open to all who loved our Lord Jesus Christ, 
T could not believe that they would consent to be 
trammeled again. Their idea was that they had 
always been subjected to forms in the Romish 
church, and they utterly rejected any thing that 
savored of exclusiveness or uncharitableness. Their 
great desire, I knew, was to profess Christ in a man- 
ner which would bring them into fellowship with all 
His true people. 

In my communications to Monterey, I made no 
allusion to the subject, merely giving instructions to 
my colporteurs and teachers, and the work went on 
as usual. After some three months, I received a 
letter from the person whoui I had left in charge 
there, inquiring, '^ Why do you not say something 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 163 

about the Baptist question, as I know you are 
acquainted witli the facts, because Mr. Westrup 
read your letter to him about it before the congre- 
gation. Many of the native Christians said, ^The 
letter is beautiful, and that you had done more to 
bring the Gospel among them than any man had 
done.' They come every day, inquiring when you 
are coming back. But you need not hasten until 
you complete your business, as nearly all the con- 
verts stand firm upon the old platform. Don Brig- 
ido^ has maintained his post under the greatest 
pressure of Mr. W. Some three or four in Mon- 
terey, and about the same number in Cadereyta have 
decided to go with Mr. Westrup and become Bap- 
tist." After the receipt of this information, I con- 
cluded that, as the Mexicans had decided the matter 
themselves, I would take hold and aid them by all 
proper and Christian means, in the organization of 
churches, in which, I felt assured, the great major- 
ity of the members would unite in one communion. 

Wheirl returned to Monterey, I was happy, the 
day after my arrival, in meeting the beloved native 
Christians, and finding a uniform sentiment pre- 
vailing, except with a very few, who preferred at- 
taching themselves to Mr. Westrup. 

I very soon procured an evangelical minister, 
Rev. John Beveridge, who had labored for several 
years in South America, and he immediately organ- 
ized churches in Monterey, San Francisco, and Mea- 

*Our principal native i)reaclier. . 



164 TWENTY YEAES AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 

quital. At Cadereyta au evangelical church had 
been previously organized by Rev. Mr. Parke,* an 
independent missionary, so we had four churches 
which were in sympathy, and co-operated together 
in harmony. The dissensions seemed to be fast 
healing, when Mr. Westrnp decided to resign his 
connection with the Bible Society, with a view of 
accepting an appointment from a Baptist Board of 
Missions of jSTew York for laboring in Monterey. 

I have ascertained through the secretaries of this 
Board, that they had received information (though 
not by any one on the ground) that there were Bap- 
tists among the converted Mexicans at Monterey. 
Also, that they had written to Mr. Thomas AY estrup, 
making inquiries, and if such was the case, offering 
to assume the support of the mission, placing him 
at the, head of it. These facts account for the sud- 
den change of Mr. W.'s sentiments. 

I feel perfectly confident that if the Baptist 
brethren of New York had understood matters as 
they really existed and proved themselves afterward, 
they would not have done what they did, in sowing 
discord among these newly-converted members of 
the Mexican mission. These ^' babes in Christ'' 
were utterly unprepared to understand denomina- 
tional issues, being totally at a loss to comprehend 
how disunion could possibly exist among Christ's 
true followers. 



*I afterward employed Mr. Parke to la^or Avith us, and he 
remained in our en)ploj about two years. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 165 

Mr. Westrup went on to New York, resigned his 
agency of the Bible Society, received ordination and 
a commission from the Baptist Home Missionary So- 
ciety, and in the August of 1870 returned to Mon- 
terey, and commenced most vigorously the work of 
breaking up all our churches and forming Baptist 
churches. For several months we were in constant 
turmoil, as Mr. W. and his followers were visiting 
our members at their homes, and in every possible 
manner trying to induce them to join the Baptists, 
telling them, as we were creditably informed, we 
" were no better than the Komanists, as we rejected 
the express commands of Christ." 

It can easily be imagined that this state of things 
among Protestants was a great source of exultation 
among the priests, and for a few months we were 
struggling with difficulties with which our persecu- 
tion from Romanists would bear no comparison. 

During that time, however, we had several acces- 
sions to our communion, not only in Monterey, but 
in other places. Our churches were termed " Evan- 
gelical," as that term corresponded with the Mexi- 
can idea of gosj^el church. Mr. W. organized a 
Baptist church in INIonterey,* and in some other 
places succeeded in making proselytes.* 

Two additional churches were soon added fo our 
number, and we found it necessary to ordain some 



*"I have recently been informed that the Baptist Society of 
N. Y. has withdrawn its support, and Mr. Weslrup haif gone to 
Texas. 



1G6 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

of our natives^ who had already become quite ac- 
ceptable preachers, so they might be properly qual- 
ified to administer the sacraments, and take entire 
charge of churches. Accordingly, two received or- 
dination, and were sent to their respective fields. Six 
churches were already in successful operation, and 
more than that number of Protestant schools were 
planted in various places, besides a girFs and boys 
school in the mission building in Monterey. For 
these latter schools I was obliged to employ foreign 
teachers; but for the others I employed natives, 
who, although possessing a limited knowledge of the 
sciences, were quite competent to instruct their 
pupils in the knowledge of the Holy Scrip- 
tures. 

A letter which I wrote about this time, published 
in the " Christian World," will probably give a 
better view of the situation and work than I am 
able to give at the present time. It says : 

" We have abundant proof of the protecting 
care and spiritual benediction of the Great Head 
of the church in the events of the past year. I 
fully believe this Mexican mission will never have 
to pass a more severe ordeal; and as it has passed 
through unscathed, we have reason for hoping that 
its future progress will be more than ever before 
brilliant and successful. God has been better to us 
than our fears. Xever has there been a time when 
our congregations were more influenced by the 
Word of Truth than during the past few months. 



TWE>"TY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 167 

Many souls Lave let go their grasp of Romanism, 
and embraced the true gospel of salvation. 

" We have in Monterey, at the present time, ten 
who are under examination, and will probably be 
baptized at our next communion. Also, in other 
churches there are hopeful subjects who are express- 
ing the desire to become united with the people of 
God. We endeavor to be careful in admitting 
members, and receive none into communion un- 
til we have evidence that they are truly ^born 
again.' ... 

*^ The coming year must witness an enlarged plan 
of operations in this long-neglected country. We 
are endeavoring to open several new missions with- 
in a hundred miles of Monterey, and have already 
sent men to prepare the way by circulating evan- 
gelical reading, collecting congregations, and plant- 
ing Sunday and week-day schools. The schools we 
find to be great auxiliaries, as through them the 
Bible can be introduced. The means for the sup- 
port of our schools have been furnished by Sabbath- 
schools and Young Ladies' Institutions of the 
United States. . . . Our native evangelists and 
colporteurs have received, too, their entire support 
from the ladies abroad, and I trust their interest 
will not wane. These noble Christian women came 
to the rescue at a time when general indifference 
and even repugnance prevailed against Mexico and 
Mexicans, and I feel confident they will not desert 
the cause while the Savior is giving such evident 



1G8 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

testimony of His approbation of their liberality in 
behalf of souls for whom He died.^' 

In a letter in June of 1870 I say : 

" As the churches can be properly cared for in 
this vicinity, I have recalled four men to go into 
the States of Zacatecas, Durango, and San Luis 
Potosi, a distance of four hundred miles, and am 
just starting them oif with Bibles and other books. 
My design is to open new fields in the regions be- 
yond, and I wish I had the means of sending out 
twenty men instead of four. The fields are white 
for the harvest, and pleading for laborers. My 
spirit has no rest in view of the great work which 

might immediately be done in Mexico 

Although we have had trials during the past 
year, the work has progressed, and at no previous 
time has it appeared more interesting and encourag- 
ing than at the present.'^ 

A highly interesting case came before us some 
little time later, affording another illustration of 
the power of the Bible, without any human agency. 
Agua Leguas, a place about one hundred miles from 
Monterey, was situated quite remote from any of 
the public thoroughfares, and had never, as any one 
knew, been visited by any of the agents or colpor- 
teurs. In the summer of 1871 one of our colpor- 
teurs, being in that portion of country, thought he 
would go to Agua Leguas and see if any thing could 
be done there. He went, and, much to his surprise, 
found quite a Protestant community, or, at least. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 169 

several families, who bad, for quite a length of time, 
congregated together for the purpose of studying 
tlie Scriptures. Our colporteur returned and re- 
ported the facts. Don Brigido Supulveda, our na- 
tive minister, accompanied by a lay brother, went 
to examine and aid this little band of Bible-readers 
in their search after truth. These brethren remained 
some time, and found twelve who gave satisfactory 
evidence of having received the truth in the love 
of it. With instructions from Mr. Beveridge, a 
church was organized of believing Mexicans, whose 
sole instruction had been derived from the Bible 
and one other book, an exposition of Komanism, 
called ^^ Nights with the Romanists,'' one of the 
Tract Society's publications. It seemed these books 
had come into their hands by some means, and 
the people, not being subject to the control of the 
])riests, v/ere free to investigate for themselves, and 
their conclusions were, that the system of Roman 
Catholicism, as portrayed by the "Nights with the 
Romanists," was false, and that the religion of the 
Bible, as they learned it in that book, was the only 
true religion. This church in Agua Legua-s proved 
to be one of our staunchest churches ; and who 
knows but there may be many other oases of a sim- 
ilar character in this great moral desert ! Thou- 
sands of Bibles have been scattered by agents over 
that land, and we know not what silent work they 
may be accomplishing through the agency of God's 
Holy Spirit ! 
• * 15 



170 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

image of the Virgin destroyed — Protestants suspected — Dan- 
gers, seen and unseen — "Death to the Protestants" de- 
termined by a mob — A colored friend — Appeal to the 
Mexican authorities ; also to the American Minister — 
Protection obtained — Destroyers of the image unknown — 
Supposed to be instigated by the priests — Persecutions 
overruled for the good of the mission. 

DURING the winter of '69 and 70 we suffered 
much annoyance from the Romanists. On the 
14th of December, the niglit before special devo- 
tions commenced to the Virgin Mary, an image of 
the Virgin, which was situated in a conspicuous 
part of the city of Monterey, was thrown down and 
broken to pieces. The destruction of this object, 
which had long been regarded with sacred devo- 
tion, of course produced a most profound sensation 
among the blinded devotees. The morning after 
the event, violent demonstrations were made towards 
the mission-house. Persons woukl pass and throw 
stones at the doors and windows, with various other 
insults. AVe were not aware of the cause, not hav- 
ing heard of the destruction of tlie image; and 
knowing it to be a '^saint's day,'' we supposed the 
demonstrations to be merely an ebullition of their 
piety, which had been frequently exhibited on such 
occasions. Our schools continued their operations. 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 171 

and all our work went on as usual, although stones 
frequently came against our windows, breaking the 
glass. Late in the afternoon a multitude of men 
and boys gathered in front of the house, throwing 
stones, and also uttering threatening language. 

Through a neighboring boy I learned that the 
image of the Virgin had been destroyed, and that 
the Protestants were suspected of being the cause. 
I was convinced, upon this information, that we 
were in serious danger, and sent immediately to the 
police head-quarters. After some time, several po- 
licemen came and dispersed the mob, arresting some 
whom they were able to capture, and sent them to 
jail : yet squads remained around, hidden from the 
authorities, and still continued their outrages as 
they could find opportunity. A guard was placed 
around the house; but I had but little confidence in 
the police, since they personally, as I had learned, 
were filled with indignation against the Protestants. 
At a late hour of the night I went to the door, and 
found one of the police sitting on the door-step, 
with his head bowed down, apparently asleep. I 
spoke to him, and, as I did so, a man came from 
the governor's house, across the street, and said to 
me in English, ^' Do not place any confidence in 
these men, for they shut their eyes so as not to see 
what is being done. I have heard them talk, and 
they are not friends to you." 

I asked him who he was. 

He said he was a colored man from Kentucky, 



172 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

\ylio had come to Mexico and joined the army, and 
was stationed at the bishop's palace (a military post 
near town) ; that he had been detailed that night as 
sentinel at the governor's house. '^But/' added he, 
" I will keep my eye on your house, and if I see 
any thing which might endanger you, I will give 
you warning, or notify the alcalda." 

I thanked him — retired and slept a little. 

Next morning several friends called — some ad- 
vising us to leave the country immediately, as our 
lives were in imminent danger ; saying that during 
the past night a quantity of gunpowder had been 
procured for blowing up the building ; that parties 
were detected in injecting powder into the gutters 
under the building. Whether this was really true 
or not, I felt that I had some reason for fearing that 
something of the kind might be done. I did not, 
however, get my own consent to quit the field, but 
decided to remain and establish my legal right. 

With a gentleman friend, a Frenchman, I went 
to the house of the alcalda (mayor of the city), and 
asked him if Americans were entitled to protection 
in Mexico. 

"Why not?" said he. ^'Certainly, Americans are 
entitled to equal rights and privileges with Mexi- 
cans." 

I then related to him my grievances, of which 
he was already apprised to some extent. He ex- 
pressed the deepest regret, and said no efforts should 
be lacking on his part to suppress any further out- 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 173 

rages. jN^otwitbstandiug the utmost vigilance of 
the authorities, daily outrages would be committed 
against the mission building, showing that public 
sentiment was not appeased for the loss of their 
dearly cherished idol. 

" Death to the Protestants " was written in large 
letters occupying every available spot on the out- 
side of the house. As the building w^as of stone, 
and no external combustible material, I had no 
cause of apprehending it might be set on fire, but 
I could not avoid having serious apprehensions that 
an effort might be made to destroy it with gunpow- 
der. Our Mexican converts sympathized deeply in 
my grievances, and, for several weeks, one or two 
kept watch in and around the premises night and 
day. 

I Avrote, immediately after the disturbance com- 
menced, to Mr. Xelson, United States Minister at 
the City of Mexico, but ou account of a revolution 
prevailing in the vicinity of the capital, I did not 
get an answer for six weeks ; but when the letter 
came, it was all I could desire. Mr. Nelson ex- 
pressed the kindest sympathy, and said I should 
be protected in my peaceful mission, and gave me 
directions for procuring from the governor of the 
State an official guarantee for full and complete 
protection for the future. In case my presentation 
failed to receive })roper attention, I was to inform 
him, and he would lay the matter before the gen- 
eral government at the capital. 



174 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

I followed his directions, aud, as soon as possible, 
papers were made out, signed by proper authorities, 
which secured to me and all my interests complete 
protection. 

The authors of the destruction of the image have 
never been ascertained. I do not believe any of 
the Protestants were accessory to it, although the 
populace were made to believe it. Many believed 
that the priests instigated the whole affair for the 
purpose of raising a storm of persecution against 
us, so we should be compelled to leave the coun- 
try, if not put to death by the mob. I was told 
by a reliable American gentleman, wdio w^as him- 
self a Roman Catholic, that when the bishop vis- 
ited Monterey during that year, he censured the 
priests greatly for permitting the Protestants to 
make such headway directly under their ministra- 
tions, and told them that if they did not go to 
studying and preaching in good earnest, and keep 
their people away from Protestant meetings, he 
w^ould depose them. \Yhether the priests thought 
it would be easier to blow us up than to preach 
us down, ^^ deponent saith noV^ Our persecutions 
ceased, and nothing of a like serious nature has 
since occurred. 



TWENTY YEAKS AMO^^G THE MEXICANS. 175 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Revolution of 1871 — Commenced in Monterey — Dissatisfaction 
with Juarez — Difficulty of obtaining soldiers — Bible-read- 
ers sought after — Colporteur work greatly hindei'ed — Peace- 
loving ]Nrexicans — Mexicans supplied with arms — Battles 
fought — Troops sent by Government — Great consternation 
in Monterey — Battle fought six miles from the city — The 
generals flee, and the soldiers rush into town to rob and 
murder — Houses built like forts — Determine to protect the 
mission property — Soldiers at the door and window, de- 
manding life or money — Conciliate them with some re- 
freshments — Four men killed on my sidewalk — Escape to 
friends — Men brought to order. 

IT becomes my sad duty to rehearse another case 
of poor Mexico's scourge and disgrace — revolu- 
tion. 

Oh, why have not the turbulent waters of strife 
been assuaged by the healing influences of the gos- 
pel of peace in Mexico? Ah, human nature is still 
rife in Mexico as elsewhere! Ambition and polit- 
ical jealousy will never cease to rule poor fallen hu- 
manity until the brighter day of millennial peace 
and glory. 

In the autumn of 1871 a revolution commenced, 
mainly inaugurated by General Trevino, governor 
of Nuevo Leon, the State of which Monterey is the 
capital, and assumed quite formidable proportions. 
A dissatisfaction arose at the previous election of 



176 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Juarez — a party alleging that he had secured his 
election by fraud, and seeming determined to over- 
throw him and place another man in the presiden- 
tial chair. Perfirio Diaz permitted himself to be 
proclaimed as the prospective president of the re- 
public, and took the field himself. The feeling was 
quite prevalent that Juarez was assuming somewhat 
the character of a dictator ; and having been in the 
presidency fourteen years, it was quite generally 
believed that a change would conduce to the good 
of the country. 

As INIexicans are famous for an expression of 
feeling by words, it was inferred that union of 
effort would not be wanting for the overthrow of 
Juarez. But when the matter was fully tested, it 
was found that but two or three States would en- 
gage in actual combat. Nuevo Leon was the most 
conspicuous of these on account of some particular 
grievances which was conceived Juarez had im- 
posed upon the people, and consequently Avas re- 
garded, by the government as the head-quarters of 
the rebellion. Consequently, Monterey being sub- 
ject to an attack from the government at any time, 
was in a peculiarly dangerous condition. The win- 
ter of ^71 and '72 was full of disquiet, as we were 
in constant apprehension of assault, and also our 
Avork was much disturbed by the effort to procure 
men for military purposes. Our colporteurs, teach- 
ers, and in some instances our preachers, were 
sought after to be pressed into service. Although 



TWENTY YEARS AMOMG THE MEXICANS. 177 

our ordained ministers were exempt from militar}; 
duty by the laws of Mexico, yet they were often 
sought after, and their congregations were very much 
lessened because the male members w^ere obliged to 
hide themselves to avoid being compelled to enter 
the army. A general stampede of hundreds of 
Mexicans, to the mountains, greatly disturbed all 
kinds of business. Heavy prestimos (forced loans), 
for military purposes, were constantly made upon 
the merchants and on all who could pay any 
amount. I was obliged to meet the demand, un- 
der the threat of the confiscation of the mission 
property. 

Judging by the utter dissatisfaction expressed by 
the majority of the Mexican people under these 
rigorous demands, I should say there was not a 
people under the sun avIio were more averse to war 
than these same poor Mexicans, whom every body 
believes to be ready to go into war merely from the 
love of it. Witli no patriotism to inspire them, 
they would hide themselves, and the leaders of the 
Revolution had to resort to every kind of strategy 
to obtain a sufficient number of men to make any 
degree of show. My impressions are that it is 
quite a small portion of the population which pro- 
cures for the country the reputation it has. This 
element is made up mostly of Indian character, and 
wdien no cause for revolution exists, these outlaws 
are engaged in guerrilla adventures for purposes of 
robbery. 



178 TWEI^TY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Formerly, revolutions would be carried on with- 
out much loss of life, as their weapons consisted 
of old gun stocks, comparatively harmless, so that 
the combatants generally all came out alive, ready 
for another revolution when an opportunity was 
presented. 

But since the French intervention, and our civil 
war, arms of an improved quality have been fur- 
nished, and battles have been quite sanguinary — 
thousands sometimes being left dead upon the field. 
Whether this is an improved condition of things, 
I hesitate to say, but one thing is evident : the dis- 
cordant element of society in Mexico is becoming 
lessened by these bloody skirmislies, and perhaps 
after a few more years this faction may become so 
much decreased that the peace-loving party will 
predominate, and civil war and revolution cease to 
be the scourge and disgrace of that fair land. 

Several bloody battles were fought during the 
winter within a hundred miles of Monterey, and 
in the interior Diaz carried on an unsuccessful cam- 
paign ; being at last defeated, and obliged to flee to 
the mountains, where he soon died from disease. 
The revolutionary party still continued their efforts, 
after all hope of successful issue could possibly be 
entertained. 

In the month of May it was announced that 
Government troops were approaching Monterey ; 
of course, great consternation prevailed. Every 
available man was pressed into service, either to aid 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 179 

in the construction of fortifications, or to take the 
field. Heavy prestimos were demanded ; some of 
the leading merchants refused to meet the demand 
from utter inability to furnish the money. In that 
case, they were forced to work on the fortifica- 
tions; and a Spaniard, who formerly was a Spanish 
Consul, actually dropped down, completely over- 
come by the attempt to labor under the scorching 
sun. His friends carried him home, and by a com- 
promise — paying four thousand dollars instead of 
six thousand, as was first demanded, he was liber- 
ated. 

General Treviiio went out with his army, intend- 
ing to meet the enemy some eighteen miles from 
Monterey, but failing to arrive soon enough was 
obliged to have the engagement within six miles. 
The utmost preparation was made by the families 
for security in case the enemy got into town. 

I understood more fully than ever before why 
houses were constructed in the style I found in 
Mexico. The walls are of stone, and a vara (33 
inches) thick, and the windows are made with iron 
bars, running from the top to the bottom about 
three inches apart. The doors are of the strongest 
wood, and secured by heavy iron bars. The old 
houses were all built as securely as forts, but some 
modern built houses were a little less guarded. 
We prepared for the worst — we well knew that if 
the revolutionary party were defeated, life and 
proj)erty were secure only within our dwellings. 



180 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

One of my teachers I had found means of send- 
ing to the United States soon after the commence- 
ment of the war, but the other I could not possi- 
bly spare, remained, and I placed her in the house 
of friends in a very secure part of the city. 

The noise of the cannon was very distinctly 
heard, and the battle raged for several hours. At 
length, clouds of dust, which we could see in the 
distance, indicated that troops were coming rapidly 
toward the town. We knew not whether they 
were revolutionary troops returning victorious to 
defend us, or those of the enemy coming to com- 
plete their long-threatened purpose of destroying 
every vestige of the rebellious city. A few min- 
utes determined, for soon came squads of mounted 
soldiers with the Governmental uniform riding 
into various parts of the town. I was not partic- 
ularly alarmed until some seven or eight rode up 
to my house. Three went to the door and com- 
menced pounding with a violence which indicated 
they were determined to make an entrance even by 
breaking it down. The others came to the win- 
dow, and with pointed rifles, demanded ^^ money or 
life.'^ I had in my house at that time, a Mexican 
gentleman, our Protestant teacher, who had kindly 
offered to come and assist me in the protection of 
the house and property. I had also two Mexican 
boys, one fourteen and the other nine years old. 
Mr. Ayala, my Mexican friend, went with me to 
the window, and we assured the soldiers that we 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 181 

liad no money, and as we were not their enemies, 
we hoped they would not harm us. But they were 
persistent, and thinking Mr. A., being a Mexican, 
might be able to conciliate them better than myself, 
I withdrew, and went into an adjoining room. 

Soon Mr. Ayala came to me, his face blanched 
with fear, saying : ^' They will kill me if I remain/' 

I told him to take care of himself and I would 
take care of the h^use. My thoughts were occupied 
for a moment in the apprehension that he could not 
scale the wall, as the walls of our yards are very 
high; but I very soon felt the necessity of turning 
my attention to my own danger. The pounding at 
the door continued with renewed violence, and as 
my door was not secured by iron bars, it was evi- 
-dent they would soon be inside, if I did not do some- 
thing immediately. At the same time the boys 
were crying out to me : " Do go, Miss Rankin ; 
they have already broken the door.'' I uttered the 
prayer audibly, " O my God ! what shall I do ?" The 
thought immediately struck me, I will give them 
something to appease them ; and as soon as possible 
took some refreshments I had prepared for an 
emergency, and went to the window in the face of 
of those awful desperadoes, who with rifles in their 
hands, [ knew would not hesitate a moment to shoot 
me. At that very time, a man whom they had shot 
was lying dead on the pavement before me. My 
heart quailed before such a sight, and with manifest 
emotion, I approached and stood face to face, saying : 



182 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

*' I am alone and unprotected ; you will not harm a 
helpless lady?" At the same time I passed the 
refreshments into their hands, which they eagerly 
seized; and those at the door came and partook with 
them. They asked me for some brandy, which if I 
had possessed, I should not have hesitated to give, 
even upon the strictest ^'temperance" principles, 
but told them I had none. They then asked me 
for water ; and in attempting to pass a cup between 
the iron bars, I failed, as the width between would 
not permit. Here was a fearful dilemma ; for I 
knew they were exceedingly thirsty, as their faces 
covered with dust and powder indicated, and my 
thought was, they will now order me to open the 
door, and in case I refuse they will shoot me. I 
stood in a maze, when one looked up to me with a 
kind expression on his face, and said, '' Never mind, 
we will hold our mouths up to the bars, and you 
may pour the water from the pitcher," which I did, 
as one after the other came up to be served. 
Although it was quite a novel mode of waiting 
upon guests, yet I think I never enjoyed greater 
satisfaction in any manner of entertainment which 
I had ever before adopted. They became quite 
amused over the performance, and inquiring if Gen- 
eral Trevino's house was on the other side of the 
street, they departed. I heard them break into the 
house; shooting the man who was left in charge, 
(the family had left.) They also broke and ruined 
every thing they could not carry away. By this time 



TWENTY YEAES AUOSG THE MEXICANS. 183 

tlie city ^Yas full of soldiers, fully bent upon murder 
and robbery. 

Four men were killed but a short distance from 
my house; indeed, every person, man, woman and 
child, found on the street was shot down. The ut- 
most effort was made to break open doors, with axes 
and by balls, and in some cases they succeeded. In 
one of the principal business houses, a young man 
was instantly killed while at his desk, by a bullet 
fired through the key-hole, and penetrating his 
neck. 

For four hours I was in the house alone with my 
two boys, Avhom I kept concealed lest they might be 
seen and killed. I knew none of my friends could 
get to my relief, and I greatly feared I might have 
to remain ail night, and I Avell knew those awful 
creatures would become so much intoxicated by that 
time, that I should fail in my attempts to conciliate 
them. 

About sunset the tramping of horses ceased, and 
the firing of guns seemed to be in the distance; and 
I ventured to look out of my window and could see 
no one either way on the street. I felt that was 
my time to escape, and told the elder boy to open 
the door, and taking the smaller one, I passed out, 
saying to the one I left, ^' Remain and take care of 
the house, and as soon as possible I will send some 
one to you." I hastened out. I had not been out 
of the house before that day, for a month, on account 
of sickness, and I felt I could only walk. I had 



184 TWENTY YEAES A:M0NG THE MEXICANS. 

not proceded more than a block toward my place of 
refuge, when the boy looked back, saying: " They are 
coming." I cast my eye around, and saw several 
horsemen riding full speed, with their rifles before 
them, about three blocks off. I thought I have 
passed through too much peril this afternoon to be 
shot down on the street; and I quickened my pace 
with, a strength I scarcely knew I possessed, and 
succeeded in getting to my friends, who had suffered 
tlie most intense anxiety for my life. A sum of 
money had been offered for some one if he would 
go to me, but when the attempt was made, the sight 
of the dead upon the street, prevented him from 
getting to my house. 

At dark some officers of the government came 
into Monterey, and brought the men to order. At 
the time the battle ceased, both parties it seemed, 
believed themselves beaten ; and the Generals, Mex- 
ican-like, fled from the field, leaving their men of 
course in perfect disorder. Carillo, the Government 
General, ran and did not halt until he got to the 
Rio Grande, never returning, but was heard from 
some time after at Vera Cruz. Trevino, being more 
at home, drew up when he got about thirty miles, 
and after a little delay, ascertaining that he had not 
really been whipped, he came back next morning 
and took possession of the field, collectiug his dis- 
persed soldiers. Three colonels of the government 
being left on the field, and finding their general 
was missing, concluded he had gone to Monterey, 



TWENTY YEARS AMOXG THE MEXICANS. 185 

came in, and finding the town in the condition it 
was, took possession. A provisionary governor was 
constituted out of one of tlie colonels, and a govern- 
ment was set up which remained in force all of five 
days; at the end of which time. General Treviuo 
and his troops came in and took possession ; taking 
the newly elected governor and thrusting him into 
prison. 



16 



186 TWENTY YEAES AM0:NG THE MEXICAN'S. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Still in the hands of the Eevolutionists — The people deter- 
mined the trouble should cease — The Generals consent to 
obtain terms from Juarez — Three men sent to the city of 
Mexico — Juarez rejects them — His death occurring in ten 
days after their arrival, Lerdo de Tejada came in power — 
Issued an amnesty proclamation — Peace declared — Gov- 
ernment troops take possession of Monterey — Mission 
house demanded for Gen. Eocha — Kesisted — Mission 
again prospered — Obtained a competent teacher for a 
young men's training school in Monterey — Thirty pupils 
under his instruction. 

OUR. condition was not at all improved, as we 
were still in the hands of the Revolutionists, 
and subject to continued annoyances from the Gov- 
ernment party, which, we were well aware, would 
not give up the contest until Monterey was in its 
possession. The people of Monterey, and, indeed, 
of the whole state, were completely overwhelmed 
with the attendant evils of the war, and the citi- 
zens, with unanimous voice, urged the commanders 
to bring the unhappy contest to a close. 

The pressure being so great, Treviiio and Qui- 
roga consented, provided Juarez would grant cer- 
tain conditions which they proposed, and three of 
the most reliable men of Monterey were selected to 
go to the capital and confer with Juarez person- 
ally. Accordingly, they started, leaving Monterey 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 187 

the middle of June, and arriving in the city of 
Mexico about the middle of July. They obtained 
access to the President, and presented the terms of 
capitulation offered by the revolutionary generals. 
The terms were obstinately rejected by Juarez, and 
no hope left that any favor would be shown the re- 
bellious party either personally or in State matters. 
This was the condition of affairs at the time of 
Juarezes death, which occurred ten days after the 
arrival of this commission. 

The death of Juarez opened the way for Lerdo 
de Tejada to come into power, who, happily, was a 
favorite with all parties. The Revolutionists had 
offered to lay down their arms some months before, 
if Juarez would vacate the presidential chair in 
favor of Lerdo, who, they claimed, had received 
more votes at the previous election than Juarez. 

Lerdo immediately issued an amnesty proclama- 
tion, and in less than two months all parties be- 
came satisfied, and peace reigned once more in Mex- 
ico. 

Lerdo was made president by a vast majority at 
the proper time for the election ; and the position 
which he has taken in favor of the highest inter- 
ests of the country, promises progress and prosper- 
ity. There may be, however, a remnant yet left of 
discord and revolution, and we know not how soon 
it may be stirred into hostile activity. Neverthe- 
less, improvement is unquestionably stamped upon 
Mexico, yet she may still be subject to some draw- 



188 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

backs, but will, I doubt not, wlieu fully sifted, be- 
come a nation worthy of respect. Public schools 
are being established throughout the country — good 
school buildings' are being erected, and the general 
attendance of the youth is required. The future 
generation of Mexicans will, undoubtedly, bear the 
impress of the great and stupendous blessings of 
religious freedom. 

I will return again to our condition in Monterey. 
About the first of July, Rocha, Government Gen- 
eral, recaptured the city, and order, comparatively, 
was restored. Although we anticipated more out- 
rages upon the advent of the troops, yet we hap^^ily 
escaped. The revolutionary generals, seeing re- 
sistance no longer possible, took the imprisoned 
governor, and re-instating him in command of the 
city, quietly withdrew with their forces and ord- 
nance. 

The morning of the advent of the Government 
troops, an order came to me for the mission house 
to accommodate General Rocha and staiF. 

Some hundred houses in the city were also de- 
manded for the accommodation of officers and reti- 
nue. I was not at all pleased with the proposal, 
and was determined to resist compliance with the 
order, and sent immediately to the governor and 
alcalda for their influence in countermanding it. 
These officials had already left the city to meet the 
army, which was exj)ected to arrive at twelve. 
Nothing could be done until their arrival, but we 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 189 

prepared for the worst, and removed every thing 
from the house, knowing that the occupants, with 
their numerous attendants, would not fail to ruin 
books, furniture, and every thing else found in a 
Protestant house, from mere recklessness, if nothing 
more. AVe informed the American consul, and he, 
with other friends, met General Rocha upon his en- 
trance into town, informing him that the house was 
owned by foreigners, and occupied by American 
ladies. These facts elicited the heartiest apologies 
from the general for the mistake, as he called it, 
as foreign property is exempt, by the laws of Mex- 
ico, from military uses. The American flag, which 
I had on the house that day, was duly honored, 
and I was much amused to hear Mexicans say, as 
they passed, ^^ Should any wrong be done that 
house, there will a bigger ball in Mexico than ever 
has been yet." We received the kindest attentions 
from the officers, finding among them some decided 
Protestants. 

Our mission, which had been somewhat checked 
in its operations, soon recuperated, and our colpor- 
teurs were able to go out again upon their work. 
Our ordained ministers proved great helps, and we 
were fortunate in obtaining the services of a highly 
educated Protestant teacher. This man, Jesus 
Ayala, had been converted in Zacatecas, through 
the instrumentality of one of -the colporteurs of the 
Bible Society, from whom he obtained a Bible, and 
with the instruction whicli the colporteur was able 



190 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

to give, he became a decided Protestant Christian 
man. He came to us, without any pretensions, and 
although he had certificates of character from 
Juarez and other distinguished men, he did not 
present them to us as recommendations. When I 
inquired, some time after we became acquainted 
with him, why he did not show us these credentials 
upon his arrival, he replied, " I preferred winning 
your good opinion by my conduct 

We employed him in a " young men's training 
school," and he succeeded to our perfect satisfac- 
tion. He, with his wife, united with our church, 
and proved to be a- valuable acquisition to the mis- 
sion.^ 



■■' I regret to state that they have now left our mission, and 
returned to Zacatecas. 



TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 191 



CHAPTEE XXiy. 

Failing health — Felt I must leave the field, or soon die — Bit- 
terness of the cup — Resignation to the Master's will — Came 
to New York — The A. & F. C. U. decline to receive my 
resignation — Wished me remain at the head of the Mis- 
sion — Finally left me to transfer the Mission as I thought 
proper — Concluded to transfer it to the A. B. C. F. M. — 
Accepted. 

I MUST now come to the most trying event of my 
twenty years missionary life among the Mex- 
icans. The labors and cares of the many years 
were developing consequences which warned me 
that my physical ability for continued work was 
very precarious. A disease, contracted upon my 
first entrance into Texas in 1847, intermittent fever, 
increased to such a degree, that I became nearly 
prostrated. Also, a severe attack of sickness which 
I had on the sea, upon my return from the United 
States in 1871, aided greatly in undermining my 
constitution. I had entertained the hope that I 
might continue to labor, and die on the field. In- 
deed, it had been the long cherished desire of my 
heart, that I might make my last resting-place with 
the Mexican people, and with them rise in the 
morning of the resurrection, as a testimony that I 
had desired their salvation. 



192 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

Yet it was a serious question, whether I ought to 
remain with the impression that I could live but a 
brief time, or whether I should not put the work 
into other hands, and seek a more congenial clime 
for my broken constitution. The latter branch of 
the alternative seemed more consistent, as by so 
doing, my life might be prolonged for further serv- 
ice in my Master's vineyard. But it was a pain- 
ful struggle to contemplate the abandonment of my 
long loved and dearly cherished work. How could 
I consent to leave those native converts, wdth whom 
I had enjoyed such sweet Christian communion — no 
more to meet them in the delightful worshij) of 
God's sanctuary? Kever did those trophies of 
Christ's love appear so precious, as when I felt I 
must tear myself from them. And the evangelists, 
teachers, and colporteurs, how could I leave them 
and no more guide them in their work for Christ 
and souls — sending them forth and waiting their 
return with reports which rejoiced my heart ? 

Although I loved the work beyond my own life, 
yet there seemed to be a duty in the matter, and I 
carried my sorrows to my Divine Master, who, I 
believed, had put the work into my hands, and had 
been, during all those years of labor, my guide and 
support. In humble confidence, I was constrained 
to believe it to be His will that I should retire from 
the arduous duties, and surrender the mission into 
the hands of other laborers whom He might call 
into the field. The mission had assumed propor- 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 193 

tioiis wliicli required ordained ministers; and it 
seemed proper that the general direction of the 
wliole work should be in their hands. This con- 
sideration, and the failing condition of my health, 
seemed to be the nieeting of two direct Providences 
leading to the same conclusions. 

I felt thankful that God had given me health and 
strength to labor for Mexico when no others would 
condescend to notice such a hopeless field. I thought 
of the times I had turned and wept, because no one 
appeared to care for the souls of the poor Iviexicaits. 
But now, evangelical Cliristians, with one heart and 
one mind, say by their actions, "We will take 
Mexico for Christ.'' What a happy contrast! Mis- 
sionaries of all Protestant denominations * are 
hastening to spread the Gospel among the long 
neglected people. 

In view of these facts, my heart seemed relieved 
of its burden, and I settled peacefully into the con- 
clusion that the evidently necessary change was in 
the order of God's providence, and in accordance 
with His own wise purpose. I arranged all matters 
pertaining to the mission as well as I could, and 
committed the oversight of the work to Rev. Mr. 
Beveridge, until permanent arrangements could be 
made. In the month of September of 1872, 1 came 
to ISTcw York to confer with the American and 
Foreign Christian Union, tlie Society with which I 



Several missionary Boards entered the tield after 1870r 

17 



194 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

had been connected since 1856. The directors de- 
clined to accept my resignation, desiring me to 
retain the mission under my control, and do little 
or much, as my health might permit. I could not 
feel that any more missionary service on the field 
was my duty, yet, in consequence of this decision of 
theirs, I waited for further developments of Provi- 
dence. I continued my solicitation for funds for 
the support of the mission as hitherto, until Jan- 
uary of '73, at whicli time, the American and For- 
eign Cliristian Union became convinced that they 
would be compelled to give up all their foreign 
work, on account of the withdrawal of the support 
of the various denominations. The directors noti- 
fied me of this fact, and left me to dispose of the 
Mexican mission as my judgment and choice might 
aictate. 

I decided to confer with the American Board, in 
relation to the transfer of the mission to it, and in 
the month of March, 1873, I went to Boston and 
presented the matter t-o the Prudential Committee 
of that Board. 1 gave them the history of the mis- 
sion from its commencement, with all the attendant 
circumstances, as accurately as possible; and after 
due deliberation they proposed to receive it, with 
all its appurtenances and responsibilities. Although 
I had full confidence in the American Board, yet, 
when I came actually to surrender my dearly cher- 
ished treasure, " the fruits of more than a score of 
years of weeping, and bearing precious seed,'' my 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 195 

heart again shrank, and I exclaimed, '^ How can I 
give it up/^ I left the rooms of the Board without 
being able to say, ^^ I relinquish the mission into 
your hands,'' and retired to my dwelling — passing 
the night in meditating upon the duty which I felt 
lay before me. " About the fourth watch " of the 
night, appeared One, who in other scenes of trial 
had come " walking upon the sea " of trouble, and 
calmed my anxious heart. By faith I realized the 
sympathy of my Divine Master, and felt the com- 
forting assurance that the mission was His, and that 
He would take care of all its precious interests. 
Indeed, I was made conscious that it was even 
dearer to Him than to myself. The next morning 
I returned to 'the Rooms, and with the full consent 
of my heart, gave the mission and all its interests 
into the hands of the American Board. 

It was received with a favorable appreciation, and 
I feel confident that it will have due consideration 
in the future. I relinquished all further care and 
responsibility ; the Board assuming the entire sup- 
port of the mission, and thus relieving me from any 
more solicitation of funds. Four new missionaries 
have already been sent into the field ; yet more even 
are needed to occupy the whole extent of territory 
assumed by the Board. 



196 TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Concluding tlionghts — Points in Northern Mexico shonld be 
immediately occupied — True policy of treating Catholics 
— Deacon Stoddard's advice — Spirit of popery still alive 
in Mexico — Martyrdom of Stephens — Crowning joy of my 
work among the Mexican people. 

TMPORTAXT points in Xorthern Mexico should 
J- be immediately occupied by other missionaries, 
to collect congregations, organize churches, and 
put into exercise native talent and ability. Mex- 
ico should become evangelized mainly through the 
instrumentality of Mexicans themselves, yet they 
need to be guided into the best manner of working, 
and require a leading mind to direct them. They 
are very submissive, and most passively yield to 
advice and instruction. 

Much precious seed has been scattered by Bible 
agents and colporteurs over a wide expanse of coun- 
try in Xorthern Mexico, and is, I doubt not, des- 
tined yet to bear an abundant harvest. Xo means 
should be lacking for the cora})lete development of 
this work of faith and prayer, and it is hoped that 
the American churches will not be remiss in their 
dut^' to sustain the hands of the Board with all 
thf necessary means for carrying forward this work 
as its importance demands. 

A church edifice has been in contemnlation jr» 



TWENTY YEAPvS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 197 

Monterey, to be built on a lot wliieh I purchased 
at the same time I did the Seminary building. For 
prudential reasons I deferred its erection, although 
I have had funds for the purpose for four or five 
years. I have thought it better not to do too much 
at once, but wait until the jniblic mind was some- 
what pre]^ared for seeing a bona fide Protestant 
church right in their midst, especially as the Semi- 
nary building was sufficiently ample to allow us a 
very commodious chapel for religious services, 

I believe it wise, as far as possible, to avoid ex- 
citing prejudices in our labors among Roman Cath- 
olics. The tenacity with which they adiiere to their 
religion should be carefully recognized, and every 
thing avoided which tends to vex and irritate them, 
even though we may defer somewhat to their prej- 
udices. It has been a fixed principle with me not 
to attack their religion, but present the Trnth, and 
let that do its work. To this sentiment, Avhich I 
have found eminently judicious, I am indebted to 
a man of sainted memory, the late Deacon Cliarles 
Stoddard, of Boston, Mass., upon whom I called in 
my early labors for Mexico. After making me a 
liberal. donation for the object I had in hand, he 
said, ^' In your labors among Romanists, be sure 
to make no decided demonstrations against their 
religion ; only present the Truth to them. If you 
wish to enlighten a room, you carry a light and set 
it down in it, and the darkness will disperse of 
itself/^ 



198 TWENTY YEAES AMONG THE MEXICANS. 

The application of this idea has always been per- 
tinent with me, and I would recommend its adop- 
tion to all others who are called into this depart- 
ment of Christian labor. While Ave are admon- 
ished to ^^ be harmless as doves," we should also en- 
deavor to " be wise as serpents.'^ An appearance 
of timidity should be carefully avoided, and yet to 
avoid an undue presumption ' is equally important. 
With the Truth of God in our hearts and in our 
hands/we can afford to be bold, with a holy bold- 
ness ; and in a country where laws are tolerant, we 
should avail ourselves of every advantage which 
the law gives in resisting persecution. The spirit 
of popery is still alive, as has been recently exhib- 
ited in the brutal massacre of a Protestant mission- 
ary in Western Mexico. The priests never did a 
more unwise thing for Catholicism — by this act 
Protestantism will, no doubt, gain a footing Avhich 
might have taken years to obtain, as the spirit of 
intolerance thus manifested can not fail to ensure 
the execration of all the better class of Mexicans, 
and it may be hoped that means will be employed 
to prevent the recurrence of similar outrages. 

AlthoHgh we may shed tears of grief on account 
of the untimely death of our fallen brother, yet far 
more may be achieved for the cause which he loved, 
by his death, than could possibly have been by his 
continued labor. Martyrdom oftentimes bears 
precious fruit. 

It is gratifying to know that another has taken 



TWENTY YEARS AMONG THE MEXICANS. 199 

up the fallen banner of the lamented Stephens, and 
is going forward in the prosecution of the same 
glorious work. 

Satan may yet make attempts to maintain his 
throne in Mexico, but only to find himself baffled 
and thwarted. The Bible is rapidly shedding its 
hallowed influences, and will constitute bulwarks 
against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. 

To me, the crowning joy of the work in Mexico 
is the triumph of Divine Truth over superstition 
and error, proving beyond a doubt that the Bible 
is Heaven's ordained instrumentality for elevating 
fallen humanity, and for bringing back an apostate 
world to the allegiance of God. If there is one 
nation of people more than any other with whom 
I shall delight to join in singing the song of Re- 
deeming Love in tiie day when that great multi- 
tude, which no man can number, stands before the 
throne of God, I am sure it will be with the Mex- 
ican nation. 

" And to Him who has redeemed us to God by 
his blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and 
people, and nation, and has made us unto our God 
kings and priests, blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power, to Him that sitteth on the throne, and 
unto the Lamb forever and ever.'' 

The End. 



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